


Override Two: Family Protocol

by zombiesbecrazy



Series: Override Two [1]
Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Canon-Typical Violence, Court of Owls, Dialogue Heavy, Dick Grayson is a Talon, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Barbara Gordon/Dick Grayson, smashing pre-new 52 and new 52 together because of reasons
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-05
Updated: 2018-12-31
Packaged: 2019-07-25 16:42:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 78,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16201535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zombiesbecrazy/pseuds/zombiesbecrazy
Summary: When faced with an impossible and inescapable situation, Dick does the only thing left that he can do to save his family.Surrender himself to the Court of Owls to become their Talon in exchange for their lives.





	1. The Choice

**Author's Note:**

> So a few days ago I asked myself the question "but what if Dick really gave himself to the Court of Owls to save his family?" and then proceeded to write 12K words of Talon AU in 28 hours. Not quite sure how long this will end up being, but I think there will be 10 chapters at this point. No firm update schedule because I tend to write things non chronologically, but I hope you enjoy it!

If his hands weren’t so busy trying to make sense of the jumble of wires and circuits in front of him, Dick would be trying to pull his hair out from sheer frustration. Everything in the entire situation was out of control, from the literal ton of C4 connected to the bomb to the unconscious bodies of Batman, Red Hood, Red Robin, Batgirl and Robin lying beside it, to the knowledge that there was no backup coming and they were running out of time. The clock was a painful reminder of that with every second that is counted down. The blue numbers on the timer seemed to be mocking him.

The whole night had been absolute shit.

From what he could gather, his family had each been caught in separate traps, brought in one by one and were heavily medicated to stay asleep. He had known it was a set up when he arrived, but there hadn’t been any other options. He needed to try and diffuse the bomb and save the day. He needed to save them all. He needed to get them out.

“You people are insane. Bird cults are the worst. You guys are officially my least favourite cult.” Dick yelled the last part at the camera and the screen beside the bomb flicked to life, revealing three people in masks, exactly what he expected to happen based on the threat that had drawn him to the warehouse in the first place; an envelope under his door with nothing in it but an address and a white feather which had to be the most annoyingly juvenile way to find out that his family was in danger, and he had known that it was the Court of Owls. They had been making their presence in Gotham known for the past few weeks, but these theatrics seemed desperate. Something must have happened to force their hand to make a move now and trying to take out most of Gotham’s vigilante’s at once was certainly a big play, but Dick had no idea why.

“You know what we want. You alone can stop the clock and it has nothing to do with the wires. You just have to say the words.”

There just wasn’t enough time. Dick was a pro at diffusing bombs but this set up was ridiculous and as good as he was, he would need at least six minutes to disarm this device. Five and a half if he was damn lucky and assuming that there weren’t more than the three fail-safes that he could already see worked into it. There had only been just over two minutes when he had arrived.

And he only had 45 seconds left on the clock.

It was impossible. They were all going to die tonight. Another family gone.

Or none of them would if he used Contingency T12B, but Bruce would be furious with his decision. The card that he had hoped that he would never have to play. Dick never thought that he would have to do it, but here it was, slapping him in the face. He was willing to die to save his family, but he couldn’t let the bomb explode and kill everyone. He had to bite the bullet. Or the blades.

“Fuck. Stop the clock.” The clock paused it’s countdown at 36 seconds. It was enough time for him to get clear enough from the blast to probably not get killed if this didn’t work. “I’ll come with you. I’ll be your Talon. But you have to let them go and I have some stipulations.”

One of the Owls tilted their head to the side, considering his words, but the clock stayed still. “You are in no place to make demands, Gray Son.”

He heard his own laugh before he knew it was happening. “That’s funny, because I’m pretty good at poker and I think I’m holding a decent hand. I can walk away right now and there is nothing you can do to stop me. Yes, you’ll blow up my family and that would be terrible, because I really like them alive and intact, but if that happens, you can’t control what I do after that. And what I will do is spend the rest of my life destroying all of each and every one of you. Making you suffer in ways that won’t kill you but just make you wish you were dead every day. Or I can try to diffuse the bomb, fail because I got here too late, and I die with my family, but I don’t think you really want that either. I get the feeling that you think I’m pretty valuable and wouldn’t want to waste it.” He wasn’t bluffing, but he wasn’t actually sure which he would do if they didn’t take him up on his offer. He needed them to take the bait; him. “So, I guess the question is… how bad do you really want me? Are you willing to bend a little to get what you think you want?”

They must have muted the sound on their end because while Dick could see them conferring with each other, their voices were undetectable over the feed. Finally, the one in the center, the leader if Dick were to hazard a guess, spoke. “We are willing to listen to your demands. They can be considered. It is time for the Gray Son to come home to roost and fulfill his destiny.”

“I want to keep my memory.”

The owl mask on the right shook their head immediately. “We can’t agree to that.” This one was female, middle aged if he were to guess based on her voice, and she was speaking in a clipped tone.  Detached and analytical. “We are not saying that just to deny you. Unfortunately, that request simply isn’t within our power to grant. The transformation process into a talon can affect every mind differently. The psyche and conscious are delicate and impossible to predict or control in such a way. Memory and speech abilities in particular vary greatly from talon to talon. Some remember more of their lives from before than others. We then eliminate those memories through hypnosis.” She looked off camera for a moment, and then nodded. “We can offer that we won’t erase any memories that remain after the initial transformation has been completed.”

It wasn’t what he wanted to hear, but he wasn’t overly surprised based on what he had seen in the past. “I can accept that. Second, I want assurances that under no circumstances will I ever be sent after my family. And the Court and any other assassin zombies you have will leave them alone as well.” He held up a hand to stop any possible response. “Just to be crystal clear, not family by blood. Anyone that I perceive as family. My family will not be hurt by the Court of Owls.

Again, there was silence between the Court members for several moments, however, this time it didn’t look like they were talking to each other and Dick had to wonder if they had ear pieces in, like someone else was watching the feed and giving them directions and they were simply middle management of the Court. If they were to stick with the judicial theme, were these the paralegals? Doing the work but getting none of the glory? It was probably not the best time to ask that question. They all nodded slightly, listening to whatever information that they were being fed, and the middle one spoke again. “We can agree to that.”

“Lastly, I want to be able to say goodbye to them. In person.” He swallowed, hard. Everything about this just sucked but he wanted, no needed to speak with them. “No tricks. No escape attempts. I’m willingly giving myself to you in exchange for their safety. I just want…” He paused, trying to figure out the right words, to not misstep and not somehow lose this request, though if they had already agreed to their safety, this shouldn’t be something that gets denied. “I need them to know that I’m okay with this. That it’s my choice. They won’t believe it otherwise. If they wake up and I’m just gone, they’ll come after me.”

“You are trying to keep them safe.”

“Always.”

The centre figure nodded slightly. “It will be arranged. Only those in the room though. And it will be monitored.”

“Thank you.”

“Your demands have been agreed to, Gray Son. We will adhere to your requests, and you will be our Talon. We will prepare for your goodbyes.” The screen flicked off and immediately there was a small hiss, the easily distinguishable sound of a gas being released. The effect was immediate and Dick felt himself falling, as he joined his family on the floor, losing consciousness swiftly.

* * *

When Dick woke up again, he was alone in a white, circular room, wearing only a white pair of scrubs, sitting in a hard chair that seemed to be built into the floor, with his ankles bound to the legs of the chair. In front of him there was a monitor, which had a lone Owl on screen watching him closely.

When the Owl watching saw that Dick was awake, he started to debrief him on the current situation. “We are ready to start with the arrangement but there are rules that must be adhered to. You are in a room in the centre of a circle of rooms. Each of those present tonight are in different rooms around the perimeter. Your room will stay stationary, and the outer rooms will rotate. One by one, each person’s room will move and then appear on the other side of that door. You will get five minutes with each of them in their room from the time that you hear a beep and your restraints are released. They will be restrained in their room. After each visit, you will leave their room and return to this room. They will be sedated again as their room moves on. You will return to that chair and be locked in again after each session as the rooms shift. Afterwards, they will all be returned to the warehouse in Gotham. You will then be taken for assimilation. At any time if any of you try anything that is perceived by the Court to go against our arrangement or if you try to remove the restraints of the others you will all be sedated immediately and our agreement will be nullified. Do you understand, Gray Son?” The Owl sounded bored, like this was an inconvenience out of his day. Dick sort of liked that he wasn’t overly enjoying or interested in what was happening.

He nodded in affirmation. “I do. Do they know these rules? And why this is happening?”

“They are being briefed in a similar fashion now. They will know that you have offered yourself to us in exchange for their lives.”

“At least I don’t have to spend part of the last five minutes I ever get with them explaining it then.”

“I’m being told that some of them are displeased with your choice.”

“I would imagine so, yes.”

The Owl looked down at something for a few moments. Another monitor perhaps? “It is time to begin.”

The room momentarily vibrated and Dick got the distinct impression that the layout that he had been told by the Owl had been false. It felt more like he was in an elevator than he was in a stationary room, though he couldn’t tell if he was going up or down. Keeping him unaware of his surroundings made it easier for them to control him in case of an escape attempt, but he was going to be true to his word.

He would be their Talon.

A low toned beep echoed through the room and the door in the room slid open. And then nothing happened. “Dick?” Tim’s voice called out from the other side of the open door. “I’m still locked in, Timmy. Time doesn’t start until I’m unlocked. I’ll be right over. Hopefully.” As soon as he said the words, there was a high pitched beep and the ankle restraints retracted and Dick was up and rushed into Tim’s side of the door.

The cell looked identical to his and Tim was restrained to his chair just as Dick had been. Dick rushed over and wrapped Tim in a hug, slightly surprised when Tim responded just as tightly. Tim must have thought it through, listened to the Owl’s words and realised that he must not have had any other options. He trusted that Dick was doing the right thing. “I can’t believe you did this.”

“Me either.”

“We’ll get you out.”

“I don’t doubt it. You can do anything.” He pulled back out of the hug and held onto Tim’s shoulders, staring into his eyes. “I’m about to contradict myself, but we don’t have much time and you need to pay attention.”

“Of course.”

“You always try to fill the gaps. To be what you think we need or replace what is missing. I need you to not try and be me. Be yourself. You are not Dick Grayson. You are Tim Drake, and personally, I really like him. He’s one of my favourite people. This family needs Tim Drake, now more than ever.” Tim gave him a sad smile and nodded, letting him know that he understood. “Now, with all that about individuality being said, if you want Nightwing, it’s yours.” Tim’s jaw fell open, confused. Whatever he was expecting Dick to say, it wasn’t that. “I know you are Red Robin, and nothing makes me prouder than the way you were able to redefine yourself after I messed up things when I was Batman, but if you ever decide that you need another change and are looking for something else, I’m leaving it for you. No one else. And I won’t be offended if you don’t. I just wanted you to have the choice.”

Tim’s face was blank but he was clearly trying to think through scenarios. “What about Damian?”

“Never mind Damian. Nightwing is yours if you want it.”

“But what if he wants it?” Dick knew that Tim was thinking about what had happened the first time around, when Robin had been taken from him. By Dick.

“It’s in my video will in the Cave. He might get upset about it but he won’t go against my wishes.”

His brow furrowed slightly, the way it did when he was presented with something that he couldn’t understand immediately. “When did you have the time to update your will during all this?”

“I didn’t.”

“You were already going to give me Nightwing if something happened?” Tim’s voice was soft with realisation and his voice trembled slightly.

“Or if I retired. Yes.” Dick squeezed Tim’s shoulders tight. “You are my brother, Tim. It’s yours. To use now or in the future or never. It’s yours to do with as you please.” He smiled at his brother, trying to relieve the tension. “Just don’t let Bruce make a shrine in the Cave like he did for Jason. I’ll be undead, not dead-dead.”

“No shrine. Got it.” He smiled sadly back. “If he does I’ll get Jason to come over and we’ll dismantle them both.”

“Good. I also need to apologize. For what happened when I was Batman. For taking Robin.”

“Dick, you don’t need…”

Dick shook his head sharply, stopping Tim mid sentence. “Stop. I need to say it. I need to say it in case this is the last time we talk. I made a mistake. And I’m sorry.”

“It was a right move.”

“But I did it wrong and I said the wrong words and we were never the same again.” He swallowed down the emotion building in his chest. How was he going to manage to do this four more times? “I love you, Tim. You are my brother, and I love you. You are brave and smart and the most determined one of all of us. You are the best of all of us and I’m so proud of you.”

The light in the room turned red and a voice filled the room. “Gray Son, you have 30 seconds to return to your cell.”

Tim reached out and pulled Dick into a tight hug again, whispering fiercely into his ear. “I’m sorry, Dick. I’m sorry we messed up and got caught in their stupid traps and put you in this terrible situation. You made the right move again in a terrible situation. Your family loves you. Please remember that.”

“I’ll try, Timmy.” He pulled back out of the hug and looked Tim in the eyes. “Look after them for me, okay?”

“It’s what I do.”

“Don’t forget to look after yourself too.” Dick turned and closed his eyes tight. “Bye Tim.” He strode back into his cell, not looking back and the door automatically closing behind him. He leaned against it, trying to hold back tears. If he started crying now, he wouldn’t be able to get through the others.

The Owl on the screen who previously didn’t seem to care very much about the whole situation was now watching him with interest, or as much interest as someone could display while wearing a full mask. “Please return to the chair.” Dick pushed himself back up from the wall and slowly walked to the chair and sat down, restraints immediately wrapping around his ankles again. Once he was secured in the room vibrated again and this time Dick felt like he was moving upwards. Were they being held in some sort of 3D maze? The movement patterns made no sense.

The door opened and the high pitched beep was immediate, Dick walking quickly into the room. Their time had begun and this small person was clearly not welcoming him with open arms. Damian was steadfastly refusing to look at him, staring at his restrained feet instead and grasping his knees tightly with his hands. “You are a fool, Grayson.” His face was blank, but his voice was low and hoarse, his tell that he had been crying even if tears hadn’t actually broken through.

Dick wasn’t ready to say goodbye to him. He knelt down beside his brother so that they were on the same level, but Damian still avoided him. He reached up and ran his hands through Damian’s hair and felt him lean into the touch slightly, glad that his brother wasn’t going to ignore him completely during their last moments together, even if he didn’t want to look at him. “I know. It was the only option though.”

“We would have been fine.”

“People who get exploded usually aren’t fine.”

“Tell that to Todd.”

“He’d agree that he wasn’t exactly fine,” said Dick softly.

“-tt-” Damian finally raised his gaze and looked at Dick. “I’m furious with you right now.”

“I know.” But Damian didn’t look furious. From all the time they had spent together, Dick knew all too well what Damian’s anger looked like. Instead this was fear and loss and abandonment, all written across his Robin’s face. “But you have to know that I don’t want this. I don’t want to leave. I want to be here with all of you. To run the rooftops. To eat Alfred’s cookies fresh out of the oven. To train in the Cave and go to the zoo and do all sorts of things that people do with their lives. But more than anything, I want to see you grow up into the person I know you can be. I’ve seen it from the start. You are going to be amazing.” Dick put his hand on Damian’s and rubbed it a little. “And now you get that chance even if I won’t be able to see it.”

Anyone else would have been shocked when Damian threw himself at Dick, but he caught him with ease and held him tight. Damian’s emotional reigns were tight, but when he loosened them even just the slightest he loved with his whole heart. It was quiet between them for a while, both lost in their own thoughts before Damian starting mumbling against Dick’s neck. “I need you. We all need you. I can’t do it without you.”

“You can. And you will.” He ran his fingers through his brother’s hair again. “I need you to be strong. I need you to ask for help when you need it. You are the best. Better than me. Better than Bruce. Better than your mother. Learn from the best parts of all of us and make yourself something beyond your wildest dreams.”

The lights turned red and the 30 second warning commenced, making Damian squeak and hold on to him tighter. “Richard. Don’t go.”

Damian was panicking and Dick had to try and remain calm while he extricated himself out of his secure hold. “I have to, Damian. I keep my promises, even those made to secret societies with stupid masks.”

“I shall avenge you.” The tone and words reminded Dick of the Damian who had first arrived in Gotham. Big talk from a young boy in over his head who trying to show how brave he was. The memory made his smile a little. Damian had come so far in just a few years.

“I wouldn’t expect anything less, but don’t lose who you are now because of me. I love you.” Dick starting walking backwards towards the door, keeping his eyes on the youngest member of their family. “Remember that you are worthy of love.”

Damian nodded, tears starting to his cheeks. “I will try to make you proud.”

“I’m already proud of you.” Dick turned and quickly strode out of the room, just making it through as the door locked behind him. He bent over and tried to catch his breath, like he had just run a long way.

“Gray Son. You need to get in the chair before we can move on.”

“Just one minute.” He was gasping. There wasn’t enough air in the room. Why wouldn’t they let him have air? “Give me a minute.”

“Gray Son.” The voice was sharp and something about it made Dick snap his head up to look at the screen. “If you don’t get into the chair quickly, the Court will see it as a breach in the agreement.”

The voice was distracting, but in a good way. He was at least breathing again. This Owl was strange.“Are you trying to help me?”

“Merely stating facts.”

“Can I see Barbara next?”

“I’m not in control of such things.” The Owl looked down again at whatever was below his screen.

When Dick sat down, the room started to spin and he had to shut his eyes to avoid getting motion sick. Upon release, Dick crossed the threshold and immediately saw the next person in the centre of the room still chained, but standing. “Oh, thank God.” Whether it was coincidence or the Owl did manage to pull some strings, Dick didn’t care; he ran to Barbara, wrapping her in a hug and they stood clinging to one another for a few minutes in silence. Dick knew that this was probably seen as a waste of their time, but he and Barbara had never really needed words, and with his future so uncertain, what he needed most right now was a chance to regroup. She had always centred and grounded him. Finally, he pulled back, but he kept holding her hands between them as he stared at her, trying to soak in the moment. “Better?” She sounded calm and patient, one of the best he knew under pressure. He was calming down.  He nodded back. “A little bit. Can you tell Wally what happened for me? He can tell the Titans. I’d rather they hear it before it makes it through the League grapevine.”

“Of course.” She squeezed his hands. “Anything else?”

“Another hug?” She pulled him close as soon as he said the words and rested her head on his shoulder. It almost felt like they were dancing together. They hadn’t done that in years. He leaned down and started murmuring in her ear. “I want you to be happy, Barbara. I’m sorry we were never able to make things work between us, but you are my best friend and I want the best possible future for you. Whatever you want, I want it to happen for you. If you want to take over the world, I hope you are the fiercest overlord the Earth could ever imagine. If you want to move to Guam and raise penguins, do it. If you want to fall in love and have a family, I wish you all the happiness in the world.” She lifted her head off his shoulder and looked him in the eyes intensely as he continued. “You are perfect. Anything you do, I know you’ll be exceptional at it.” He tilted his head down as she raised hers up and their lips met in a soft kiss. It certainly wasn’t their best, but he could feel her despair. Her love. All of her. He hoped she felt the same back. They broke apart and he rested his forehead against hers. The green light filled the room, but he ignored the voice. “I love you. So much.”

“I love you too, Dick.” She brushed her knuckles likely against his cheek and his heart was pounding hard in his chest. “And as silly as it may sound, I want the same for you. You are choosing to go with them. Whenever you get woken up, you better be the best damn Talon they’ve ever seen. Surpass the hype. If not, I’ll just have to kick your zombie ass to teach you a lesson.”

“What if they don’t wake me up for 200 years?” he asked softly. It was his fear that is what they would do, transform him into a talon and then put him into cold storage for years, killing his family while he slept and him being none the wiser.

“I’ll leave instructions for future Batgirls. I’m going to build an army. We’re like Slayers. There will always be another one.”

Despite himself, he laughed and he got a grin in return. “You are thinking of Robins.”

“At this point I think they go hand in hand.” She squeezed his hand one last time, released it and then stepped back, encouraging him to leave the room. “Be safe, Boy Wonder.”

“For you, Babs? Always.”

When the door closed he was still shaky but felt better than he had five minutes earlier. He took a deep breath and released it slowly. He glanced at the screen at the Owl watching him. “Thank you.”

He shrugged. “I don’t know what you are talking about, Gray Son.” Dick still couldn’t tell if he was lying or not, but decided it didn’t matter. He sat in the chair again and the room did a 180 degree turn and unlocked immediately. Dick could guess who was next before he walked into the room.

The set up was different again, though this time, Dick wasn’t overly surprised by what he saw. Jason was sitting cross legged on the floor and was completely restrained against the wall, visibly held at the waist and under his armpits. He could shift from side to side slightly, but he was unable to move his arms and legs at all and his arms were trapped as if he were in a straight jacket. They had felt the need to retrain the big, bad Red Hood more than the others, which Dick found a little funny until he realized that Jason had a black eye developing, a fresh cut on his chin and there was blood on his scrubs. What had happened?

Jason rested his head against the wall and watched Dick look at his wounds. “What? This?” Dick sat down on the floor next to him and nodded. “I may have woken up earlier than they thought I would and reacted in an unbecoming fashion. Not my blood though, so there is that. Sorry if I offended your new friends.” Jason chuckled to himself. “You really do like making it impossible for the rest of you to live up to you, don’t you?”

“What can I say? I aim high.” Dick’s mirrored Jason’s position and rested his head and closing his eyes. “I’ve never wanted you to be me, you know. I just want all of you to be happy. And if I have to do this for that to happen, so be it.”

“We could have been fine. Being dead doesn’t tend to stick in this family. It would have been just a flesh wound.”

“Don’t...”

“Not the time for gallows humour? Or Monty Python?” asked Jason wryly.

“Not that. Don’t let me hurt them.” Beside him he felt Jason tense up and Dick sighed heavily. “I don’t trust the Court to actually keep their word. There will be a loophole or something. I’ll probably end up trying to kill you guys. Do not let me.”

“Dick…”

“It has to be you. The others will hold back and Bruce will be unreliable. I need you to be my contingency plan. And in this case, that means you take me out. Permanently.” He turned to his brother and stared at him. His big little brother. When had Jason gone and grown up without him noticing? This whole process was making him nostalgic.

“You want me to kill you.”

“If I hurt someone in the family, yes.” It was a terrible request and he knew it. Jason didn’t deserve to have this asked of him, but Dick needed to know that someone would do it. That someone could stop him if things went wrong. Bruce, Tim and Barbara wouldn’t do it and he couldn’t ask that of Damian after all they had been through. Jason could handle this burden, even if he shouldn’t have to.

“You want me to kill an unkillable zombie assassin in the body of my big brother.”

“A rather poetic challenge, right?”

Jason stared at Dick for several seconds, considering the request. “You sure about this?”

“I need everyone to be okay. I need you to do this for me, Jay.”

Jason slowly released a long breath through his nose and shook his head a fraction as he closed his eyes. “Alright, Dickie. I’ll protect your family from you.”

“Our family, Jason. They are your family too, brother.” He grasped Jason’s bicep and shook him a little, urging him to look at him again. “Thank you.” Dick hesitated for a second, wondering if he should continue. He licked his lips and took the plunge. “I’m sorry.”

Now Jason shook his head vehemently. “Nope. You want to apologize for all the shit between me and you and the rest of them and I don’t want to hear it. I know you’re sorry. You know that I’m sorry. We’re all sorry. I get it.” His tone dropped as he spoke and while he couldn’t move much, Dick felt him shift slightly to press against Dick’s side. “We aren’t doing that now. Or ever. We’re cool, capiche?” Dick nodded sharply.  

The light switches to red again and the 30 second warning. “I guess that means I’ll be seeing you around then.”

“Maybe you will.” Dick sat up on his knees and wrapped his arms around Jason to give him an awkward hug around the restraints. He felt his brother rest his chin on his shoulder. “You won’t kill me if I’m not going after the family though, right?”

Jason barked out a laugh and Dick grinned as he pulled away. “Well, _now_ I won’t.” Jason winked at him as Dick stood up to leave the room. “Always the perfect Robin, trying to make me follow the rules.” Dick was at the door when Jason called after him. “I’ll do it, Dick. If I need to, I’ll do it. I swear.”

Dick turned and looked back at his brother. The one that he had known the longest and yet knew the least and had blown his chance with over and over again. The one that he had given an impossible task to and who was standing up to face it head on. “I love you, Jason. And so do they. Keep them close.”

If Jason answered, Dick didn’t hear it as the door closed behind him over the threshold.

“One room left. In the chair, please.” The Owl paused for a moment “You get six minutes with the Batman. You may not have noticed, but your time with Red Hood was short. When told of the arrangements, he offered to give up one of his minutes for Batman to have. It was accepted even after his outburst after transport.”

He sat down hard into the chair. “Dammit, Jay.” It was something so small and yet so huge and Dick didn’t have the time to process it.

His mind was reeling with what he was going to say to Bruce and he didn’t bother to pay attention to how the room was moving, because it really didn’t matter; he just knew that it took longer than the others before settling into place. Maybe Bruce had been held further away from the others.

As soon as he was free from the chair he was at Bruce’s side, who was locked up a little more than Tim and Damian, but less so that Jason; he had the use of his arms at least.

Bruce’s face was a blank slate but Dick could almost feel emotions just raging beneath the surface. He had known this man most of his life and could read him better than anyone else. And right now, Bruce was upset and wanted to fix things and save the day. “You have to let this happen, Bruce.”

“I’m going to get you out.”

“I know. It’s part of Contingency T12B.”

Bruce grunted and tried to fidget against the restraints. “There are no escape plans attached to that project. You know that. It was only supposed to be a Hail Mary play.”

“And it was. And there are no escape plans that I know of. The Court could potentially get them if I knew. But I know that you have them because you are you, and if not, you’ll make some. That’s enough for me.” He cleared this throat before continuing, “But if you can’t…”

“We’ll get you out.” Bruce’s voice was adamant, but there was something underneath. He was pleading with Dick to trust him. As if he ever needed to. Dick always trusted him, even when he probably shouldn’t have.

“I know, but just in case you can’t, I want you to know that I know you did everything you could.” He grasped Bruce’s shoulder tight, trying to force Bruce to listen to him for once in his damn life. “I can be a back burner project. Leave me there as long as you need to. I’m just one person.”

“You are more than that.”

“Not to the detriment of Gotham. Or the world. I won’t exactly be in the condition you want me in, but I’ll be safe Bruce.” His voice was cracking and he couldn’t do anything to stop it. “I’m going to be okay.”

“I won’t be. I...” Bruce closed his eyes and paused, thinking out his words carefully before speaking again. “I can’t just lose another one of you.”

“You aren’t losing me. Not forever. Think of it as going to a very, very exclusive boarding school that you’ll have to drag me away from because I refuse to graduate. This is my choice. My decision. It is my turn to save this family. You aren’t allowed to have a monopoly on self-sacrifice.” He gave him a sad smile and tried to lighten the mood. “Tell Alfred that I love him. And I want you to actually say the words and give him a hug when you do it. And tell him that I’m sorry that I never managed to get my socks in the hamper when I lived at the manor. So he knows that it’s from me.”

His attempt worked, even if just for a moment because Bruce rolled his eyes. “He hated that. Why could you manage every else but the socks?”

“No idea. They were my Kryptonite.”

Silence lapse between them, just like it had a thousand times before. It was comfortable and familiar, but Bruce was getting antsy, something that not many people had seen, but Dick recognized all too well. He was preparing to leap into action when something felt wrong. “They are giving us longer than five minutes. Something is up.”

“No. Jason gave us one of his.” Something changed behind Bruce’s eyes and Dick smiled at him. This was a bomb that Dick could diffuse. “Thank you, Bruce. For everything. For being my friend and mentor and partner for all these years. For being my dad.”

“I wasn’t your father.”

“If that somehow helps you sleep at night to think that, sure, but I need you to know that I _do_ think of you that way. You took me in after my parents were killed, and you raised me. You may have trained me to be Robin and put me in wildly inappropriate and dangerous situations, but you also put band aids on my skinned knees when I fell off my bike. You were there for me when nightmares woke me up crying in the middle of the night. You read me bedtime stories and watched movies with me and went to parent-teacher meetings. Face it, Bruce. You were my dad; you just happened to miss the first few years.” The light turned green and Dick immediately felt sick to his stomach. This was happening. This was it. “And I love you, Dad.”

“I love you too, chum.”

“You actually said it.” Dick hugged his father tight and large, warm arms enveloped him in return as he tried to do whatever he could to try and make this feeling stick so that it would be something that he could remember when everything else was gone. “Please take care of yourself, Bruce. The others need you to not shut down on them. You are allowed to grieve and miss me, but you need to be alright. Not like when Jason or Damian died and not like when Selena left.” He pulled back and stared at Bruce intently. “More than anything, I want you all to be okay. If not, then this isn’t worth anything in the end.”

Bruce nodded at him. “I can do that.”

“Thank you, Bruce.” Dick stood and walked to the door. He couldn’t look back. Not this time. He wouldn’t be able to leave and then the agreement would be voided. He stopped for a moment and then called back. “Take care of our family for me.”

“Goodbye, Dick.” The response was immediate and choked up. He had made Bruce cry and he was glad he hadn’t looked back because it would have been impossible to keep moving if he saw that. It took everything that he had left to walk away and through the door, and he kept going straight to the chair.

“It’s done. Thank you for letting me do that. I expect you to honour the rest of our arrangement as well as you did this part.” He sat down and it locked him in immediately. He glared at the screen, into the empty eyes of the Owl’s mask. He was not going to let them see him cry. They were not going to win like that. He clenched his jaw, dug his heels into the ground as much as he could and waited for the sedation that he knew was coming to fill the room.

“Let’s get this party started already.”


	2. Six Months (Bruce)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It has been six months since Dick went with the Court and Bruce hasn’t been able to find a trace of them anywhere.

No one saw Gotham quite the way that Bruce did.

From an outsider’s perspective, his hometown was a terrifying place. It was dark and menacing and had a reputation of destroying itself from the inside and many thought that one day it would simply implode and take everything and everyone along with it in its destruction. They would all be collateral damage to the fall.

It made sense to Bruce that people thought that. Hell, for many years he had thought that himself. But now he thought that they were wrong. Yes, terrible things happened in Gotham. There was murder and mayhem and darkness that threatened to overcome everything and nibbled away at every corner, but that wasn’t all there was. The true secret to Gotham was that it could give as much as it could take. More even, really. Yes, there were evils that tried to tear it down, but in the end it would rebuild and prevail every time. The people of Gotham inevitably came together to overcome. To help. The people of Gotham were inherently good and could rise up as a beacon in the darkness that could shine better than any signal in the sky ever did.

Bruce hadn’t really understood that part about Gotham very well until Dick had come to life with him all those years ago. It had been Dick who had pointed out the little things that Bruce had failed to miss. People inviting strangers into their homes after Penguin bombs had damaged their own. A man giving his gas mask to a child during a Scarecrow attack. A group of teenage boys chasing down a mugger to get an elderly lady’s handbag back. There was a sense of community among Gothamites. A family of sorts. People would gripe about their city, of course, but the same people would defend it tooth and nail to outsiders. No one could talk about their city like that except them.

Bruce had learned through his experiences as a child that Gotham was terrible and that being Batman had been what the city needed to be better, the only way to overcome it all, but Dick had taught him that Batman was what was needed to keep the people of Gotham safe, so that they could be the ones to make the city the best it could be.

Tonight was one of those nights when Gotham felt like it was getting better.

Some nights there is just a sense of calm to rest over the city and it felt like everyone got a chance to catch their breath. A coincidental and unspoken sigh of relief when everything just grinds to a halt. Bruce has learned over the years that it is just for the best if he accepts these nights as a gift, because before long, something will explode or be broken into or there will be a murder that will kick off the chaos again. It is nights like these that he can look out over his city and think that this is the goal. The goal is to get the city to be like this every night. Where Batman isn’t really needed.

Everything was quiet and calm and yet Bruce still felt unsettled.

It has been six months since Dick went with the Court and Bruce hasn’t been able to find a trace of them anywhere. All of their previous Gotham hideouts and headquarters had been abandoned, but he knew that they couldn’t have gone far. He had stayed true to his word and he was working on his plan to extricate Dick, but every time he thought he was making headway, something pulled him back farther. The main issue was that the Court of Owls had done a frustratingly good job at keeping their secret society a secret, and most of the original leads that they had gathered on them had dried up in one night a few years ago. And by dried up, he meant all of the members of the Court that he could find had been brutally killed and he was having a hard time tracking down the replacement leaders. He had a few hypotheses based on some of the newer affluent families among the Gotham elite but nothing was connecting them together and had covered their tracks well. In addition to that, he had to consider the entire picture; the Court was specific to Gotham, but in order to extract Dick successfully and permanently, the entire Parliament would have to be dismantled and taking down an international conglomerate was an even bigger task to tackle than just a local branch. 

That wasn’t even beginning to breach the issue of how to get a hold of them once they were found. When the family had woken up in the warehouse after Dick was taken, they had searched everywhere they could think of, physically and digitally, to find any trace and there was nothing. Bruce was beginning to suspect that they had access to a boom tube or some other similar tech to travel large distances quickly. Teleportation was no simple feat, however he had to admit that with the reaches that the Owls had, it was entirely possible that they had a physics team that had been able to crack the problem or they had simply been lucky and got their hands on some alien tech, skipping most of the hard work. Having the members be able to vanish within moments made it potentially even more difficult.

The Illuminati were looking more and more like schoolyard children in comparison and Bruce was getting increasingly frustrated. He had a constant headache behind his left eye that had taken to calling his Migraine of Owls after he had determined that he hadn’t developed a brain tumour and that it was entirely stress related.

He thought that Dick would have laughed at him for calling it that and that made the knife feel like it was twisting in just a little deeper.

Now, Bruce was swinging across the rooftops with no clear destination in mind, thinking about wrapping up patrol early for the night and heading back to the Cave to try and put in another few hours into research into one of the underwater cave systems when he landed on the top of that Gotham Gazette and froze. A familiar figure was just sitting there, as Bruce had found him so many times in the past, legs dangling over the edge.

Dick was resting on the roof like he had never gone missing.

Except things were clearly wrong in his appearance.  It was obviously Dick, but the he was wearing an outfit that was eerily similar to William Cobb’s Talon uniform, all black and gold and covered with blades with retracted wings on his back. His cowl was pushed back though and his face was free in the night, except for a simple domino mask he had been wearing underneath, very similar to the ones he had worse when he was been Robin and Nightwing.

As prepared for various things that Bruce was, he hadn’t expected to see Dick just out in the open, even if the Court did honour their word of their family being off limits. He had assumed that Dick would have been kept in stasis for future use, under the floor of wherever the new Court headquarters was, for a time when the limitations of the deal wouldn’t matter and when they were finally able to get him out, they would have to rescue him from cold storage where ever he was being held. Obviously this was not the case. Bruce didn’t know if this development was better or worse than what he had pictured.

He watched his former ward in silence from the other side of the roof for a few minutes. He tried to tell himself that he was trying to catalogue what he was seeing, like how Dick was eerily pale and didn’t appear to be breathing or that the ridged position of his back made him look like he was ready to attack at a moment’s notice, but he knew that he was just kidding himself. He was looking at what was left of his son and was trying to decide what to do next. And what he was going to do if the Court had against the arrangement. What he would do if Dick said the words he was dreading hearing from him most: _Bruce Wayne, the Court of Owls has sentenced you to die_. If necessary, could he really bring himself to fight Dick for his own life? His brain was saying yes, but his heart was calling his brain a liar.

“Dick?” On the edge of the building, Dick flinched slightly at the sound of his voice, apparently having been lost in thought and had not heard Bruce join him on the roof. He turned his head and looked Bruce over for a few moments. Big, sad, golden eyes watched him and Bruce tried to not react to the change in colour. Whatever his assessment of Bruce had told him, there was no real reaction. Dick turned his head and went back to looking across the skyline without saying a word. Turning off the voice modulator on the suit, Bruce had to try again. He had to know what was left of his son and what they were going to be up against. “Dick, do you know me?”

There was a delay, but Dick nodded though he didn’t look back again. “Batman.” His voice was quiet and raspy and Bruce had to strain to hear him. He took a few steps closer, but stayed on the balls of his feet, ready to spring into a fighting stance if needed.

“That’s right.” He didn’t take his eyes off of Dick, but for the most part Dick was just continuing to ignore him. “Are you going to do anything about that?”

“Batman is Family.” There was something firm and solid about the way that Dick said family. Like it was special or sacred in his mind. Bruce felt himself relaxing slightly. “Talon cannot hurt Family. It is Override Two.”

Whatever it was that Override Two was, it appeared that the Court had upheld their end of the deal, which was more than Bruce had expected. He was, however, curious about Dick’s speech patterns as he appeared to be referring to himself in the third person, but not as Dick or Nightwing. He was referring to himself as Talon. All of his previous experiences with talons had given him inconclusive data in regards to their intelligence, speech and memory from their previous lives. His sample size wasn’t big enough and didn’t have enough long term interaction with them to draw significant conclusions.  Bruce needed to take the chance to find out all he could about what had happened to Dick and in order to do that he needed to be uninterrupted. He activated the comm in his cowl. “Batman is going temporarily dark. Everyone is ordered to stay away from the Gazette until further notice. I will activate a distress beacon if needed however it isn’t expected. You will be briefed later.” He saw that Dick’s head tilted towards him as he spoke, listening to him speak to the team, but he didn’t tear his eyes away from the city streets beneath them.

He took a step closer to Dick, closer to the edge of the building. “What are you doing tonight?”

“Watching.”

“Watching what?”

“The city. Talon likes being up high and watching the city.”

“Can I watch with you?”

Dick shrugged his shoulders, indicating indifference, but Bruce saw that he shifted slightly, giving more space beside him on the ledge. The movement implied that he was welcome to join him. That Dick wanted him there. “If Batman wishes.”

Bruce approached the ledge slowly and carefully dropped down onto the roof beside Dick, mirroring his position with his feet swinging below him and took a moment to look him over carefully. His original assessment had been right: eye colour had changed, skin was much paler and he didn’t appear to be breathing, which were all rather disturbing on their own. Beside these differences though, he could also see the ways that Dick was the same. His hair was identical to what it had been the night he was taken. He still had a scar under his left ear from an encounter with Deathstroke when he was with the Teen Titans. He was even tapping his heels in a familiar pattern against the brick wall of the building; right heel, pause, left heel, left heel, pause, pause, repeat. He didn’t think that Dick had ever been aware of this quirk himself, but here he was, doing it again just as he always had.

Approximately ten minutes passed in silence before Dick spoke again, voice low and clipped. “It is nice. Sitting. Watching.”

“I often think so.” He did. Their city was beautiful. “It is different to sit beside you in the quiet. You were always very… chatty before.”

Dick turned his head to look at Bruce again before speaking slowly. “It is difficult for Talon to speak. Words don’t… flow.” Dick shook his head and for a moment Bruce thought that he looked annoyed with himself, clearly unhappy with the words that were coming out of his mouth or how they sounded to his own ears. “Batman should know that inside Talon’s head it is very loud. Lots of talking and words that cannot be said. They do not come out as he would want. He sounds strange to himself.” Had the transformation caused or triggered some sort of aphasia? Or were there things that he was simply not allowed to talk about that he was trying to work his way around?

The third person narrative was also alarming, but it was workable. If he could understand Bizarro, he could certainly handle this. “What do you want me to call you? Talon or Dick?”

“Talon is here. Dick is no longer. Gone.” It felt like Bruce’s heart plummeted into his stomach as soon as Di… _Talon_ said the words. This was his son, but not. He said he wasn’t Dick. Dick was Gone. Capital G. “There are… things though. Whispers in Talon’s mind. A voice. He knows some things. From Before. From Dick.” Talon rolled his eyes. “Many things are missing. Or scrambled.”

“Scrambled?”

“Like eggs.” Talon’s face was blank, but Bruce almost did a double take. Did he just try to make a joke? It wasn’t a very good one, but he didn’t think it was possible at all for talons to be funny. Or maybe it wasn’t a joke. Maybe it was just an analogy that made sense in his head.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve seen you. How long have you been awake?”

“Talon does not know time.”

“Have you been allowed out often?”

“Talon has been out on Missions. This is the first night he has been permitted out without a Mission. He suspects he’s being watched by the Court.” Talon’s eyes dart to the east side of the city before looking at various other places, from where he thinks that the Court may be watching, but that first direction made Bruce think that he might be onto something by wanting to look into the underwater caves off the shoreline. Talon had looked east first. East towards the harbour. Well, the harbour and everything else in between. It was a lot of space to cover, but at least it was a starting point.

“What have your Missions been about?”

Talon looked down past his feet, at the street below, watching cars pass underneath. He made a noise that sounded a little bit like a growl. He’s trying to warn Bruce to drop the topic. Or he doesn’t like what his own response is going to be to that question. “Batman does not want to know that answer. He would not approve.”

The unsaid answer that Talon has been killing people for the Court is a clear as day. Metropolis day, not Gotham day. “I see.” Bruce knew that this was going to happen, and it still hurt for him to hear. It was one of the first things that he had taught all of his protégés in training. They do not kill. And now to hear about it happening from Di… Talon’s hands, it struck a nerve. “Dick could have asked for a no murder clause in your agreement.”

Talon turned to Bruce again and gave him a slight, gloomy, smile. It looked wrong on Dick’s face. “A talon who cannot do the tasks Ordered by the Court or the Grandmaster is of no use and would be terminated. Dick would have known this.” It was odd to hear Talon speak of Dick and his choices as a totally different person, though it was becoming more obvious to Bruce that they truly were different. “That condition would not have been agreed to by the Court.”

“Are they treating you well? I’ve seen how the talons have been stored when they are not in use. It isn’t humane.”

“Talon does not go to sleep like the other Talons. He has a nest to himself and he is able to walk freely in most areas of the compound. Some doors are forbidden.”

“Do you know why? Why they are treating you differently?”

“No. They call Talon the Gray Son and say that he is special. Maybe that is why. Talon is not permitted to ask questions like that.” Talon’s voice was small again, and it gave Bruce the impression that he had learned the hard way to not ask certain types of questions. Perhaps the same way that he knew that some doors were forbidden. Bruce knew better to ask where the compound was. There was no way that something like that would simply be available for him to tell.

As Talon continued to watch him, Bruce was suddenly overcome with the need to touch him in some way, any way, really, but he both needed to see what would happen and know if Talon would let him have physical contact. Bruce lifted his arm very slowly, aware that Talon was watching his every move, and brought it closer to Talon by fractions with each passing second. He hesitated when his hand was hovering over Talon’s shoulder, before Talon nodded slowly. Bruce rested his hand on him lightly, and felt Talon relax. “You know that I am trying? To get you home safe. If you were to come home now, they would just come after you again. I have to dismantle the Court, yes, but it is bigger than just Gotham. It is a huge network. We have to take down the whole Parliament institution.”

“Talon knows. And there is something in here,” he tapped the side of his head casually with his free arm, “that will not let him simply go with Batman anyway. Talon cannot disobey. He must return to the Grandmaster as instructed.” This revelation is very interesting to Bruce. Is he referring to the brainwashing in his head or is Dick trying to tell him that they have physically done something to him, like a tracker or a bomb as they had with Damian? Something that won’t physically let him follow Bruce?

“I’m trying with the family too. Like you asked. It’s hard, but I’m trying. I’m looking after our family, Dick.” Talon tensed and shook Bruce’s hand off him. Bruce looked down at his hand for a few seconds before he realised what he had done. “Sorry. Talon.”

Talon slowly took a deep breath in through his nose, just as Dick had often done to calm himself down when arguing with Bruce, but it seemed to be a matter of instinct rather than necessity. Bruce gave him time to collect his thoughts. Eventually Talon nodded. “Good. Family is important.”

“Do you want to hear about the family? How they are?”

“Are they safe?”

“Yes.”

“Then that is all that Talon needs to know. It is all that matters.” Talon closed his eyes. It was the first time that he had looked away from either Bruce or Gotham surrounding them, and in that moment, he looked most like Dick. He looked sad and broken and in desperate need of a hug, yet Bruce knew that he wasn’t going to be able to offer that to him. “Override Two requires it.” He whispered the last part to himself more than Bruce.

That was twice that Talon had mentioned Override Two. “Can you tell me what Override Two is?”

“The Grandmaster created Override Two. It means that even though the Court controls Talon, Family cannot be hurt. There was a promise. They kept their promise in exchange for Talon.” He sighed. “Talon does not wish to hurt Family even if it were not Overwrite Two.” For something that was supposed to be a perfect, impartial, killing machine, Talon was surprisingly emotional and open. His voice was monotone and facial cues were mostly blank, but as some who had known Dick’s expressions and ticks inside and out, Talon was an open book, even if they words weren’t there to say it plainly.

“They would like to see you. The family. To see that you are alive,” said Bruce.

“Not alive. But living.” Talon rested one of his hands on his chest, where his heart used to beat. “Batman must make Family understand that Talon is not him. Not Dick.” He lowered his hand back to the rooftop. “Not the same.”

“I see that. I’ll let them know. I can’t guarantee that they won’t make mistakes, but they will try.”

“When he is allowed out, Talon will be watching. They may see him.” Talon’s features grew concerned, eyebrows crinkling as he heard his own words. “Not when Talon is on a Mission. They cannot see that. It is… unpleasant.” He shook his head aggressively at the thought, and Bruce had to agree with him.

“Can I ask something of you?” Talon’s head cocked to the side, listening intently. “Can you be merciful? On your missions?”

“Talon cannot disobey the Court, but he is fast and efficient with his blades. They do not suffer,” said Talon mechanically, “unless they deserve to suffer.”

“I can’t say that I approve, but I can accept that.”

Talon hummed in response, and looked back out towards the city in apparent quiet contemplation once more. Bruce sat and thought about all the times that he had sat up here with Dick. It was a favourite rooftop of his; central in the city with a high vantage point made it a good resting place, but able to get everywhere in the city fairly quickly. They had eaten countless takeout dinners and snacks up here. When Dick had been Robin he had taken several naps on this roof while Bruce continued stakeouts that were admittedly far longer than they needed to be. They had fought with each other on this roof, screaming matches that must have been heard from the street. It was rather fitting that this was the roof that they began a new part of their relationship on.

Twenty minutes of silence passed again before Talon stood abruptly and stretched his arms in the air as he twisted. It was a Dick Grayson move if Bruce has ever seen one and he could hear a familiar pop from Talon’s shoulders with the movement. It was comforting in an odd way. “It is time for Talon to return. He is being called back. Goodnight, Batman.” Talon nodded at Bruce, who simply returned the gesture before Talon leapt off the side of the building. Bruce watched as he fell, and took a sharp intake of breath when he saw black and gold wings spread across Talon’s back, turning the fall into a graceful glide. As suspected, Talon was headed east. He rounded a tower, banking with practiced ease, and didn’t appear on the other side. He was gone; vanished into the night.

It felt glorious to know that Dick was flying across the city again.

Staring out at the city Bruce lost track of how long he sat on the wall after Talon left. He was too busy trying to think about how to sort and filter everything he had learned that night. Seeing Dick had answered one big question about what had happened since that night six months ago, but had left far more it its stead. Knowing that Talon was awake, knowing that he wasn’t going to hurt them was huge, but there was so much more to take into consideration now than a simple extraction. Talon couldn’t go with him. The Court seemed to have direct access into his mind for recall purposes, meaning that he was bound by some sort of digital or telepathic conduit to them. He needed to start recording his intel into the database and for that he was going to have to head home. His quiet night now looking incredibly busy.

Activating his comm as he stood up, he set out a firm order to the team. “Batman is back online. I need you all to meet me in the Cave in one hour. Attendance is mandatory.”

* * *

Fifty eight minutes later, Bruce was sitting at the conference table in the Cave, with six pairs of eyes waiting for him to say whatever it was that he had to say. He just wasn’t sure where to start. Jason was still in his gear, but Barbara and Tim were in sweats after patrol and Damian was wearing pyjamas, having been woken up on his night off. Tim was holding a tablet that that Cass on, video calling in from Hong Kong. Alfred stood in the doorway, silent and stoic. Bruce knew that he was aware of the situation, having seen and heard Talon on the cowl camera as muting the comms didn’t stop the main recording feed, but he hadn’t said a word to Bruce about it since his return home, choosing instead to wait to see how Bruce handled this situation.

“There has been a development with the Court of Owls case.”

“Did you look into that old train station outside of Burnside that was swallowed by the sinkhole fifty years ago? I thought it looked promising. Satellite images look like the structure may be intact underground.” Tim had been instrumental so far in gathering data and finding promising leads. Just two nights before he had brought this thought to Bruce, and it did look very promising, up until tonight.

“Not yet. We will investigate it but now I think that it is in the wrong direction.” He looked to Alfred who gave him a single nod of his head in solidarity, encouraging him to continue. Bruce cleared his throat and then bluntly spat it out. “I saw Dick tonight.” There was a beat of silence. Two beats. And then an explosion of babble erupted around the table.

“What?”

“Where was he?”

“How was he?”

Everyone was talking over each other and it was getting out of hand rather quickly. Raising his hand, Bruce waited until the questions stopped. “He is… well, he’s how we expected him to be. He has been transformed into a talon by the Court but,” he scanned the table, making sure that he had everyone’s attention, “the Court appears to have kept their end of the arrangement. He said that he is unable to harm family. It’s like a sub-directive in his programming. He called it Override Two. I would suggest that you stay vigilante in case things change, but it appears safe for now. He knew who I was and that we are trying to help him. He said that he’s willing to see the family, but he wanted me to make sure that you all understood that he isn’t Dick anymore. He is Talon.” There was a sharp sound from the end of the table and he locked eyes on Damian, sitting ramrod straight in his chair. “He has some memory of before, but it is incomplete.”

“So it is like someone else in Dick’s body?” asked Tim.

“It appears that way, but I’m not fully convinced. He did some things that were very much reminiscent of Dick, but it is possible that it was just retained muscle memory. That said, you can’t try and make him be who you want him to be. He is Talon. I suggest you get used to that idea if you want to have any sort of relationship with him.” He paused and then continued. “He has requested that you cannot see him when he is on a mission. I expect you to honour his wishes.”

Jason scoffed and kicked the table leg. “You mean when he’s killing people.”

“That is very Dick,” said Barbara and everyone turned to look at her at the far end of the table. She wrapped her hands tight around her drink. “He’s still trying to protect us from what he’s doing,”

“I agree.”

For the next hour, Bruce filled them in on his encounter with Talon, answering all of their questions and cataloging their reactions to the news. Tim was like a sponge, soaking in the information. Cassandra was quiet over the video link, but not alarmingly so, and she seemed relieved at the news that he wasn’t locked away. Damian was also quiet, but it concerned Bruce. He had expected rage and defiance and Damian storming out of the Cave, but he just sat in silence the whole time, clearly worried that Dick was someone new who wouldn’t know him or be the same anymore. He would have to keep an eye on him. Barbara was being pragmatic about the situation, trying to avoid theoretical or emotional aspects of the situation. She was already building maps and routes in her mind to try and narrow down the base location based on the vague direction of “east of the Gazette”. Jason’s reaction had been interesting. He made a show of complaining of the dichotomy that Dick was allowed to kill and he wasn’t, but it was all for show and they all knew it. Whatever he was trying to cover up had his face switching between relieved and terrified. It was odd and Bruce didn’t know what to read into it.

One by one they trickled out, leaving Bruce alone at the computer in the Cave with Alfred, as it had been in the beginning and for so many other nights since. He sat with his elbows on the desk and held his hands in his head, completely drained and at a loss. “I don’t know how to save him, Alfred.”

He could hear Alfred’s hand drum lightly on the table. It was something that he did when he was trying to buy himself some time when he was trying to figure out the right words to pull Bruce out of his own head. “The others are going to assist you in finding the Court headquarters and in disassembling the Parliament, sir.”

“Not that. I mean after that.” He rolled his neck to look at Alfred beside him. “He isn’t Dick anymore. He’s Talon. He’s not even really alive.”

“I don’t think that something as trivial as someone being undead with memory loss has ever stood in your way before.”

Alfred was right, of course. He always was. This was new, certainly, but he could figure it out if given enough time. Hell, some of his kids had died at one point or another and comeback. He had travelled through time and dimensions. This didn’t have to be the end all, not at all. They could fix this somehow.  “When did this become our lives?”

“I’d say that it was the day you put on the suit and first punched a man in a clown suit, but the precise date is rather hard to pin down.” Alfred’s dry response was accompanied with the most stone cold expression and they simply stared at each other for several seconds. And then Bruce started to laugh, slowly at first but it started to get louder until it was loud and booming, until tears ran down his face. It was a culmination of everything; the pressure of trying to find Dick, keep the general peace in Gotham and the pure ridiculousness that was his life.

It was the release he needed so that he was ready to fight his war another day.

After his laughter petered out, he rubbed his face and smiled at Alfred. “Thanks, Al. I needed that.”

“Any time, Master Bruce.” He rose from his chair and brushed his hands on his slacks. “If there isn’t anything else, I’m going to turn in for the evening.” Bruce nodded in goodbye and watched as Alfred exited the Cave before turning back to the screen to input what he had learned that night into his ongoing casefile concerning the Court of Owls.

_New subfolder: Talon – Dick Grayson_

Over the years Bruce had developed the habit of talking to himself in the Cave when he was working alone, and he wondered now if it started by him wanting to fill the void of Dick’s constant conversation after he had moved out. It was low and more of a murmur than actual talking, but it was there, keeping him company as he worked. Over the past six months he had found himself paraphrasing some of Dick’s last words to him, almost like a mantra, but tonight… tonight they rang truer than ever before.

_He may not be in the condition that I want him in, but he’s okay. Dick’s okay._


	3. Eight Months (Tim)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> “What would be fun?”
> 
> It was a very good question that Tim didn’t have a ready answer to. What on earth could someone do with a brainwashed assassin that used to be their big brother and hero for fun?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have a little bit of Tim and Talon fun fluff, because the next chapter will be fluff free.
> 
> :)

The last words that he had with Dick had been on his mind a lot for the past eight months. He had wanted Tim to be his own man and spread his wings. To spend some time being the best Tim Drake that Tim could be and to look out for himself for a change.

It was easier said than done.

The problem was that Tim wasn’t really sure who Tim Drake was any more. He was starting to figure out who he wasn’t though, and that was a start. He wasn’t the quiet and wallflower child of his youth. He wasn’t the eager and bright eyed boy who had pushed his way into Bruce Wayne’s life, and he didn’t feel quite right being the confident business wunderkind. He felt a little closer to what he thought was himself with Kon, Bart and Cassie, but even then, something didn’t sit quite right and it made him anxious to realize that he was so directionless.

18 was too young to be having a midlife crisis. Heck, he couldn’t even call it a quarter-life crisis yet.

For the past few years, he had felt lost. In the heat of the moment he would say that it was when Damian had showed up that everything had become muddled but he knew that it started before then. So much had happened, to him and to the people around him that that he had lost his way. He had spent most of his life always picking up the pieces for everyone around him and compartmentalizing everything so that he could keep pushing forward that at some point he just lost track of who he was and why he was even doing what he did.

He had been so busy trying to be what everyone else needed him to be that he didn’t know who he actually was.

The internet told him that this was common for people at a crossroads, but didn’t help him much in trying to do anything about it.

A month ago he put on the Nightwing uniform for the first time and something changed. He had expected that he would feel like an imposter, just another role that he was trying to slot himself into, but it was the opposite. He was honouring his brother, not taking his place.  When he was in Gotham or with the Titans he was still Red Robin, but he went to Bludhaven by himself a few times a week to keep an eye on the place and there he was different. There he was Nightwing and being Nightwing gave him a sort of freedom that Red Robin just didn’t. He was not trying to be Dick, per se, but being in a different city by himself without it being a big life or death situation always looming down, well, it was magical. It was the spark that he needed and for the first time in a long time, he felt… good. He wasn’t quite who he thought he was yet, but he was on his way to finding out. And he thought he liked who Tim Drake could be on his own.

He couldn’t describe it well with words yet, but something was definitely changing for the better.

Tim landed on the roof of a grocery store for a breather when he first noticed him. Talon was sitting on top of a pole beside the building, watching him with interest. It wasn’t the first time that Tim had seen him, far from it, but it was the first time that he had seen him either in Bludhaven or while he was wearing the Nightwing uniform.

Bruce had originally seen Dick, or Talon as they now had to think of him as, two months ago and since then he was intermittently popping up throughout the city. Their interactions had been positive so far. All of the family had seen him at various times, but he had only spoke with Tim, Damian and Bruce in that strange clipped way that Talon did. He didn’t give away much information and the visits were typically just in passing and very short. Cass had just arrived back in Gotham a week ago and had seen him from an opposite rooftop once; they had just nodded at each other in recognition, but hadn’t actually interacted as Talon seemed to be moving with purpose somewhere, probably a Mission or under some other type of directive that night and couldn’t say hello. Tim, however, thought that the most intriguing engagements were with Barbara and Jason.

Talon seemed to be low-key stalking Barbara. She saw him everywhere and seemed to be the one who he was watching most frequently, but he refused to speak to her no matter how many times she tried to engage him; she would try to talk to him, but he would just stay perched where he was and didn’t respond. He just observed her constantly. Barbara had been hurt at first, but now she was just getting frustrated with him lurking from the shadows at all times. The reaction that Jason got was even stranger, though he didn’t seem to mind as much as Barbara did. Any time that he had spotted Talon, Talon would immediately vanish and Talon never approached a group of them if Jason was there. It was curious. Tim thought it was clear that Talon was actively avoiding contact with Jason, but wanted to see him anyway. He had to guess that it had something to do with whatever they had spoken about when Dick said goodbye, but Jason wouldn’t talk about it, and Tim had discovered that couldn’t exactly ask Talon about it because he won’t give a straight answer and got agitated at the mention of Jason. Tim had his suspicions but hadn’t voiced them to anyone yet.

Tim waved up at Talon, who jumped down from the pole and landed beside him. He pushed back his cowl and began to slowly tread around Tim, eyeing him up and down. It reminded him of animals circling their prey in National Geographic documentaries and it made Tim a little uneasy. “Red Robin?” Tim nodded his head a fraction.  “Red Robin is now Nightwing?” Tim nodded again, this time more firmly, but he gripped his staff a little tighter. Tim hadn’t had any issues with Talon so far, but their interactions had been minimal and never by himself yet. Was this going to be a problem? Talon stopped circling and squeezed his eyes tight and pressed the heels of his hands into them. “Nightwing. Nightwing. Nightwing.” His lips kept moving, but voice dropped lower than Tim could hear. He seemed to be talking to himself, pretty forcefully too from the looks of it. Was he was trying to commit the change to memory? Was he able to process new information like this? Connect what he knew from before to how things were now? Talon muttered to himself for a little longer, but finally he dropped his hands and opened his eyes again, and he nodded at Tim. “Good.”

Tim let out a sigh of relief. “I still go out as Red Robin too sometimes. I’m a bit of a work in progress.” He looked down at his Nightwing uniform. It was a little different from what Dick’s had been, incorporating his Red Robin belts in a blue colour and swapping out the escrima sticks for his bo staff, but he was glad the Talon was able to make the link. “What are you doing here? I didn’t think you left Gotham.”

“Talon sometimes leaves Gotham on Missions.”

“Are you on a Mission tonight?” Tim hoped it wasn’t the case. He had stumbled across a scene a few weeks ago that he knew had to be the work of Talon. He had been following up a lead he had about a human trafficking ring when he walked into a basement in the Bowery that he had thought to be an abandoned transport site to find 13 dead men with their throats sliced clean open. The space had been absolutely caked in blood; splatter on the walls, pooled under the bodies. The men had bled out fast, but it was still terrible to see. It had been a long time since Tim had lost his lunch because of a crime scene like that.

He also found it a little ironic that the Court of Owls where using what was essentially a stolen assassin to get rid of human traffickers. He doubted the Court would find it as amusing as he did.

“No. Talon is…” Talon paused, trying to search for the correct words, “free tonight. Wanted to go to Bludhaven.”

“You sound like you broke out after curfew.”

“Talon is free tonight.”

“Yeah. You said that already.” Tim had done a lot of the compiling of everyone’s interactions with Talon for Bruce and there was a pattern jumping out at him. Besides the obvious trait of only referring to everyone by their code names, Talon seemed to be incapable of lying or admitting to going against loose rules. He certainly seemed to know the difference between Orders from the Court that he couldn’t break and things that appeared to be merely suggestions, and when he tried to work his way around those, he simply repeated himself. It made him sound a little dumb, but Tim could see that it was exactly the opposite. Talon was clever. “Do you want to hang out?”

“Hang out?”

“Do something. For fun. With me.”

“What would be fun?”

It was a very good question that Tim didn’t have a ready answer to. What on earth could someone do with a brainwashed assassin that used to be their big brother and hero for fun? It’s not like they could go out for coffee, play video games and or watch a movie like normal friends did and he didn’t think it was a good idea for him to take Talon patrolling with him like he used to do with Dick; there were just too many unknown variables about what would happen in the case of a fight. “Do you eat? I have some cookies.” Tim groaned internally at himself. He really was grasping at straws here. Cookies aren’t fun. Cookies are great, but just food at best.

“No. Talon does not eat.” But he reached out his hand and Tim passed him a cookie from his belt anyway. Talon raised it to his face and closed his eyes, smelling the cinnamon chocolate chip cookie. It was freshly baked that morning by Alfred and was still soft. Talon opened his eyes and looked at it carefully. “Good.” He handed the cookie back to Tim, who was stunned for a moment about what to do with it, before he just popped it in his mouth. Someone might as well enjoy it and there was no reason why he couldn’t eat it just because Talon touched it.

“Good?” Talon was watching Tim interestedly as he chewed. He swallowed it down and smiled back. “Yeah. Penny-One makes the best cookies.”

“Yes.”

“You remember Penny-One?” Talon doesn’t really answer but he makes a noise that sort of sounds like a purr and Tim decides to take it as a yes. He finds the more animalistic changes between Talon and Dick captivating to observe. Despite the owl and avian theme that the Court was obsessed with, there was something about Talon’s sounds and movement that gave Tim a distinct feline predator vibe, like a cheetah or jaguar that had been around humans just enough to trick you in to thinking that were domesticated but was still lethal when it wanted to be.

It was a nice night in Bludhaven. It was cool, but the skies were clear and you could see for miles on the rooftops. It was still pretty early as far as patrol hours went and Tim had been having a productive night so far, stopping a few muggings and a break and enter, but he hadn’t had a chance to really stretch his legs yet. He was itching to do something active and hard.

The perfect idea came to mind.

“Want to race up the Jefferson?” Jefferson Tower was a block away and was the tallest non casino building in Bludhaven and while it didn’t have anything on some of the buildings in Gotham, it was still twenty floors high, with lots of ledges, awnings and hand holds; perfect for climbing. It was a challenge but more than manageable and simpler to do with Talon than booking in time at the rock wall. They would get strange looks there.

Talon looked up to the top of the building and then back at Tim and tilted his head to the side questioningly. “Why?”

“It can be fun. We can race climbing up the tower and the first one to the top is the winner.”

“Talon will win.” There was a hint of a smile, when something made Talon’s face shut down, and he started to shake his head firmly. “No. Not safe for Nightwing.”

“Sure it is. I’ve done it plenty of times.”

Talon kept shaking his head. “Could slip. Fall. Die.” Tim saw that Talon was reflexively curling and uncurling his fist at his side. It was something that was definitely stressing him out, and Tim wondered if it was a residual fear of Dick’s coming through Talon. He didn’t cope well with others falling, nor should he have.

“I’ll be okay. If I slip, I’ll use my grapple to save myself.”

Talon froze and stared at Tim, looking confused. “Grapple?”

Tim unholstered his grapple gun and showed it to Talon. “Yeah. See?  If I pull the trigger, this end shoots out and will latch to something and I can swing to safety. No falling.” He pointed out the components of it as he spoke to explain to Talon how it worked. “It’s safe. Dick taught me.”

Talon flinched slightly at that and Tim wondered if he had misspoke. “Dick.” Talon stared at the grapple in Tim’s hand and stood completely still for a minute, lost in thought, before he nodded slowly. “Yes. Grapple is safe.” He looked between the building and Tim again. “Race?”

 “Sure. But we have to lay out some rules in case you don’t remember them. For safety.” Talon nodded emphatically in agreement. “First, the start line will be from the train platform roof and we don’t start until I say ‘Go’. Second, it’s a climbing race only. No grapples, no tools, no flying. You can’t teleport, can you?” Talon glared at him but said nothing. “Yeah, didn’t think so, but still, no teleporting. Third, you cannot physically touch another racer. Last, the winner is the first one standing on the roof with both feet. Got it?” Talon nodded in affirmation. “Alright, let’s head to the start line.”

Together they ran across the rooftops before they could jump down onto the platform roof directly across from the Jefferson. It was 1:30am on a Wednesday and there weren’t any people around to see them at their game. Perfect. “Alright. Ready?” Talon nodded and he had a grin on his face before he flipped down his cowl. For a flash, Tim’s heart ached. He missed Dick a lot and while he knew they weren’t really the same, Talon reminded him so much of him sometimes. It wasn’t total Invasion of the Body Snatchers; there was something left in there. Tim could see it, even if no one else did. He shook off the feeling, pushing away what he could ignore and focusing on what he did have. “Ok. Three… Two… One…” he paused and he felt Talon’s muscles tense beside him, waiting for the command, “Go!” and they both jumped down and raced across to start climbing the building.

Tim knew that he was going to lose before the race had even started. How could he not? He had never won one of these races against Dick and Talon was faster and stronger than Dick had ever been. But just because he knew that he couldn’t win it didn’t mean that he couldn’t have fun. He was able to use the quickest route that he knew because Talon chose a weird path that Tim couldn’t quite figure out. Was he choosing a more difficult line on purpose to keep the race closer or did he not remember familiar routes?

Either way, he was still beating Tim up the wall. Tim decided that it was time to play a little dirty. He let out a little squeal that made Talon freeze and whip his head back at Tim. While he was distracted, Tim threw a cookie at Talon and when it hit him in the face, Tim scurried to catch up. When he was level, Talon flipped his cowl back and narrowed his eyes. “Nightwing said no tools,”

“A cookie is not a tool.”

“Anything is a tool in the right hands.” Talon made an impossible jump to the next ledge up and looked back down at Tim. “Cheater.”

“Takes one to know one.” Tim shot back.

“How? Talon did not teleport,” was the deadpan response before Talon started to race again, leaving Tim in his dust. He had to admit that Talon had him there. He hadn’t said anything about super jumping.

The race was actually closer than Tim expected it to be, with Talon disappearing over the top of the building with Tim only 10 meters below him. When Tim pulled himself over the final barricade, he saw Talon standing, on both feet, in the middle of the roof, just in case there was any doubt as to who the winner of the race was. Talon was smiling at Tim, watching him breath heavily after the climb.  “Talon said he would win.”

“That you did. Good race.” Tim sat down and dangled his feet off the roof, looking out towards the city, with Talon joining him a few moments later. He looked at Tim and away again a few times until Tim simply just raised an eyebrow at him and then waited. Talon clearly wanted to say something.

“Nightwing has not asked Talon anything about the Court tonight.”

“I didn’t think that you could tell me anything, so I didn’t bother to ask. I’m enjoying spending time with you. I didn’t want to upset you and ruin it.”

“Talon thinks… that Nightwing should… try.”

“Oh. Okay.” Talon’s speech was becoming fragmented again, signalling that he was trying to play word games to get his point across; to talk around the rules. "Do they know where you are tonight?"

"No. They did not say that Talon could leave. But they did not say that he could not leave," he paused and swallowed. "They will be displeased when Talon returns. His absence will not be unnoticed."

Interesting that Talon still made the choice to come out knowing that the end result wouldn't be good for him. “Can you tell me where the Court headquarters are?”

“No. Talon cannot say where.”

Tim hadn’t assumed that he would have been that lucky, but the answer did imply that he could maybe talk about the location itself. “What can you tell me about the headquarters?”

“Talon can tell Nightwing that they are underground. Smells like… copper and salt. The walls can move but… only twice.” Twice? Like as in they can only go in two specific directions? Alright, the maze moved but there were only a specific amount of variations. “Talon has his own nest. It is in the center of the maze. It does not move. When he is with the Court, he is normally there alone.” A probably location where to find him was good, and it gave them a good centralized, stationary location for reference. “The Grandmaster meets with the Owls every month in the Bright Room. They talk for a long time.”

“I thought you couldn’t track time?”

“Talon does not, but The Grandmaster welcomes them to their monthly gathering.” Talon shrugged. “Does that help Nightwing?”

“That was a lot more information than I was expecting.” Far more. How on earth had they let him say that much or not lock it down tighter? “Thank you. It will help a lot.”

“Talon was unsure if he could say anything. He had been Ordered not to tell Red Robin anything.” Talon grinned at Tim, almost cheekily. “He has not been told that he could not freely speak to Nightwing.” He rolled his eyes up and he shook his head. He was _so_ expressive tonight. “Almost freely.”

“You’re sneaky like that.”

“Yes.”

They lapsed back into a silent watch over the city, until Tim heard a low rumble beside him. It was the purring noise again, like when he had asked Talon about Alfred. It was a happy sound. Talon was happy. In all this chaos, Tim had been able to make his brother happy, even if it was just for a little while. Tim didn’t want to bring it to an end, but he had to head back to Gotham. “It’s getting late.”

Talon hummed in response and peered past their feet to the ground. “How will Nightwing get down?”

“Oh, I’m going to grapple to over to that roof down there.” Tim waved at one of the lower rooftops nearby. He paused and looked at Talon carefully. “How are you going to get down?”

“Talon has wings for gliding,” said Talon. “But...” His voice was hesitant and he looked a little shy, which was strange to see on Dick’s face. “Can Talon grapple?”

Whatever Tim had suspected Talon was going to ask that certainly wasn’t it, but he didn’t have to think about the answer. “Sure. You can use my spare if you want.” He pulled out his spare and held it out to Talon before the thought rushed through his head that Talon hadn’t even remembered what a grapple was earlier in the night. “Do you remember how?”

“No.” Talon picks up the extra grapple from Tim and something lit up in his eyes. Tactile recognition? Fascinating. “Yes. Jump. Point. Shoot. Fall. Pull. Swing. Release. Land.”

“That’s it.” Tim looked down the side of the building. Twenty stories was high even if you were talking to a former Flying Grayson. “Are you sure? This is pretty high for a first time.”

“Yes. If Talon falls, he will be fine.”

“Yeah, you won’t die but crashing from this height would have to hurt.”

“Perhaps.” He looked toward the building that Tim had pointed out to him and back to where they were standing. “Talon will use wings if necessary.”

Nodding, Tim stood on the ledge and jumped off the building and fired his gun at a familiar anchor point. The tug on his shoulders was at just the right time and the momentum swung him the perfect amount and he landed on the rooftop with ease. He turned just in time to see Talon approaching the rooftop, and landed flawlessly. Like he had never been without a grapple in his hand a day in his life.

“Nightwing was right. Fun.” Talon looked down at the grapple in his hand and smiled to himself before holding it out for Tim to take back.

Tim shook his head. “You can keep it. I have more spares at home.”

“No. Talon will be searched upon his return. Grandmaster will take it.” Talon pushed to grapple gun into Tim’s hand forcefully, trying to get rid of it urgently like it was hot to the touch. “Talon would be punished if he were to return with an unapproved weapon.”

“Well, we can’t have that.” Tim took the grapple out of Talon’s grasp and held it in his hands, looking at it with scrutiny. Talon was able to have _fun_. He had been smiling tonight, quite a bit actually. He enjoyed himself, away from the Court’s hold and there was such as simple solution to give him something huge. Tim can give him this chance. “How about we leave it hidden up here for you? So if you feel like swinging again, you can come and get it? They wouldn’t have to know. It could be our secret.”

“Secret.” Nightwing said eagerly. “Yes. Please.”

Tim walked around the rooftop and found a brick in the storage unit up there that was loose. With a little prying, he was able to pull it out and chop it up with a small awl that he had in his belt. He was able to place the grapple gun in the hole and then place the now much narrower brick in front of it. Perfectly hidden from view. Talon gave a head nod in approval.

“I have to get back to Gotham. Do you need a lift back on the bike?” Tim started to climb down the drainpipe of the building. He was parked just below.

“No. Talon can make his own way back to the Court.” Talon looks north east, back towards Gotham, and the outline of the towers on the shore are just visible to Tim when he follows the sight line. He wonders if Talon sees it differently than he does.

North east of Bludhaven, and east of the Gotham Gazette. Underground maze. They were narrowing down the location of the Court’s new headquarters. Probably not as fast as they would like, but things were happening.

Tim pulled on his helmet and sat down on the bike. “Alright. Thanks for hanging out with me tonight, Talon. It was fun.” It still felt weird to say goodnight to Talon like this, without a high five or a fist bump or a hug. Tim wasn’t an overly tactile person, but Dick had been and Tim had always accepted it. Talon had let Bruce touch him in the first meeting, but he had shied away from it ever since.

“Yes. Fun.” Talon raised his hand slowly and gave an awkward wave. Did he feel weird about them parting like this too? “Goodnight, Nightwing.”

Tim started up the bike, waved back at Talon and started to drive back towards Gotham.

He needed to head to the Cave and talk to Bruce about what had happened. It had been a good night, for him and for Talon. And he wasn’t quite sure, but just as he was almost out of view from where he had left Talon, he looked into his mirror and saw what looked like a lone figure, grappling across the Bludhaven skyline behind him.


	4. Ten Months (Cass)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Black Bat sees something that she wasn't supposed to and Talon is an emotional roller coaster.

It was good to be back.

Cass had learned a lot since coming to Gotham the first time. It was here that she had learned that she wasn’t only a weapon. That she could be her own person. A good person. A person who liked art and ballet and eating candy. A person who could have a family that she loved and that loved her back in return.

All of those things had been foreign concepts to her at the time, but now she didn’t know how she had gone so far in life without them.

Now, Gotham was where her home was and she kept returning to it no matter how far or long she was gone, but wasn’t because of the city or any loyalty that she felt to it on its own. Unlike Bruce or Jason, Gotham itself didn’t feel all that important or special to Cass. There were parts of it that she liked and parts of it that she didn’t, but overall, it was just a place. It was like other places that she had seen and it was also different. Every place was different in some way. But places were just that. Places.

No, what made her keep coming back was her family.

Home, she had learned, was where the heart was. And not her real, physical heart, because that was where she always was. Home was the part on the inside that pulled at her. That made her feel things. Family. That was a metaphor; another thing that she hadn’t known about before Gotham. Before family. Before she knew what her heart truly was.

She also knew that home could be in several different places at the same time. Home was Wayne Manor. Home was at the ballet. Home was in her apartment in Hong Kong. Home was sitting in Tim’s car singing with the radio or watching movies with Steph.

A person could never have too many homes. Never have too many places to feel love and comfort and family.

She felt at home in her Black Bat uniform, no matter where she was in the world. Even if she was lonely or scared, when she was Black Bat, she knew that she wasn’t alone because her family was with her even if they couldn’t see her. Her heart and her home.

Her life had changed a lot. Almost everything for the better.

Tonight she felt like she was wrapped under blanket upon blanket of home. She was in her Black Bat clothes in Gotham, in the rafters of the Royal Kane Theatre, watching the cast and crew of the revival of _La Bayadère_  go through their final dress rehearsal. Cassandra Wayne was going to go to the opening night performance as any socialite who was a proper purveyor of the art scene in Gotham should, but she always liked to watch the Gotham Ballet Company’s rehearsals prior to the first show better. Opening night was beautiful and there was a hushed energy buzzing through the building, but it always left Cass feeling a little sad. No matter how trained, experienced or skilled the dancers were, opening nights were always a little stiff, even if no one else noticed it but her. There was a tension in their bodies that gave them away. Nervousness of the pressure of performance took something away from the story that they were trying to tell. Instead their underlying message, to Cass, wasn’t the story, but it was their personal struggles. They were thinking too hard to be too perfect.

Nights like these, though, were more real and raw and perfect. Where all of the work and preparation had been done, the pressure was off and they were doing it one last time for themselves before they were showing it off to the world. Their movements were free and filled with love for their craft and for the story. The final dress rehearsal was much more passionate and true and honest. It was her favourite thing in the world to watch.

The production was breathtaking and the chemistry between the dancers in the roles of Nikiya and Solor was obvious. Cass had read that they were a real life couple and that was evident on the stage. Cass felt herself wanting to boo at the High Brahmin for interfering with such couple and tears slipped out when the snake attacked. Cass was a sucker for tragic love stories.

It was close to the end of the final act when she noticed that she wasn’t alone in watching the rehearsal from above. It was then that she spotted Talon across the atrium, crouched above the one of the royal boxes. His mask was coving his face and he was curled up small and his muscles were tense as he watched someone or something off stage that Cass couldn’t see from her angle. Whatever he was looking at wasn’t the ballet.

His body made everything evident. He was practically screaming at her. Talon was working. He was on a Mission.

Before he had become Talon, Dick had usually reminded Cass of opening night performances. Too perfect. Too practiced. Too much acting.

She had never mentioned it to anyone but she always had a little bit of trouble understanding Dick Grayson. He spoke quickly and what she did understand from his words didn’t always match up with what was happening with his body. Even if he signed instead of spoke, his words didn’t match the rest of him.  She understood that he wasn’t lying, exactly, but he hid how he was feeling a lot of the times with his words and it gave her mixed messages. It could be confusing for her to interpret. His words mostly were happy. Calm, but energized. He loved his family. He loved her. But sometimes… Sometimes he was angry. Furious. And sometimes his words matched and he yelled and raged and nearly exploded with anger. This made sense. Everyone gets angry. It was the other times though, when his words were kind and his body disagreed entirely. These were the times that she didn’t understand him the most. When he tried to pretend that he was fine when he wasn’t. The others didn’t always see this difference. It made Cassandra a little uneasy.

She had trusted him though. Whatever his words and his body disagreed with, they always had a common message. Loyalty.

On the other hand, she understood Talon completely.

They finally spoke the same language. The language of movement and fight and bodies without the mess that words seemed to make. They had not interacted much yet, though when they had it had been with ease and clarity.

Now the thing that Cass didn’t understand was why the others had such a hard time seeing the difference between who Dick was and who Talon is now. And she certainly didn’t understand why they didn’t see when he was both now and why it was confusing to them. He was Talon, yes. But sometimes Dick peeked through. A tilt of the head. An expression. There were flashes where Dick was there even if no one saw it but her. She had tried to explain it to Bruce, Barbara and Tim, but like Talon, the words didn’t come out right.

Talon didn’t seem to notice the differences either which made it even more frustrating. She just kept the words to herself.

She was just glad that Dick was still there, somewhere deep inside. Somehow they’d figure it out.

The performance ended but Cass was too distracted to enjoy it the way she normally did. She kept an eye on Talon as the dancers left to change and then leave for the night. He didn’t follow. She watched as the crew finished up their work and left not much longer afterwards. Again, he stayed. The director and producers and the musicians all left and Talon waited. The lights in the building seemed to be turning off, security shutting down the building for the night and still he remained, unmoving. There couldn’t be that many people left. Who was he waiting for?

It was then that another person finally walked out onto the stage from the wings. It was a middle aged woman that Cass recognized, but did not know much of beyond her name and a few concerning details. Mrs. Adams, who was the chair of the Performing Arts Foundation. There was no reason for her to be here this late in the night, especially after everyone else was gone. She walked to the centre of the stage and looked out to the empty seats. She was looking for someone, but no one was there.

Cass watched as Talon made his way across the higher space of the theatre. There were lots of beams and pillars through the building even before adding the equipment for staging productions, which created a lot of shadows and darkness to hide in even if it wasn’t after hours. People didn’t tend to look up anyway, even if they did feel like they were being watched. Cass knew this because she had often watched from up here and had never been spotted. Talon was moving swiftly and silently and with intent to the space above Mrs. Adams’ head.

She was Talon’s objective for the night.

Should Cass interfere? Or would that make things worse? She knew that this woman wasn’t a very good person. She did not treat her employees fairly and had stolen funds from the theatre to pay for her own vacation last year. This woman deserves to be punished somehow, but did she deserve the permanent punishment that Cass was sure that Talon was there to dole out? She knew Batman’s rules, and believed in them, but she also understood that sometimes things could not be that idealistic. She didn’t kill herself anymore, but she also understand those who did. But only if they had a reason. What was reason of the Court? Was she guilty of more nefarious deeds than Cass knew of? It was possible. Cass knew very little of the woman.

No, Cass could not interfere. She had made a promise to Batman about Talon. She had already disobeyed by staying, by watching what was obviously a Mission when she was not supposed to do so. She had known that this was an Order the moment she had spotted Talon during the rehearsal. Talon couldn’t disobey Orders, even if he wanted to. She couldn’t stop him without making things worse for him.

Cass was going to have to let this woman die. She definitely couldn’t tell this to Batman. She didn’t think that he would understand that it was the only way to keep Talon safe.

She watched as Talon dropped down from the lighting rig he was waiting on to the floor in front of the woman, who shrieked in reply, as anyone would. She had been waiting for someone, but Talon was not the one she was expected. What did surprise Cass was that once Mrs. Adams was over the initial shock, she seemed to recognize Talon. She was terrified, yes, but it was well beyond the terror that someone would have if a masked person confronted them. She didn’t turn and run like he instincts would have told her to do, but instead she fell to the floor and started scrambling backwards, away from Talon, with the word “no” falling from her mouth continuously. She was unable to look away from him. This wasn’t regular panic; this was the fear of someone who knew exactly who Talon was, and why he was there, and that fact made Cass a little intrigued. Whatever this woman had done, she knew what was going to happen because of it.

This woman knew that Talon was more than just a nursery rhyme to keep children from misbehaving.

Standing to full height, Talon walked very slowly towards the woman, who had backed into a backdrop on the stage and could retreat no farther. “Moira Adams. The Court of Owls has sentenced you to die.”

“No! Please, Talon! Have mercy!” Her own words confirmed that she knew who Talon was. And in order for that to true, that had to mean that she was probably a member the Court of Owls herself. She scrambled back up to her feet, and held her hands up in surrender. To attempt to sway Talon onto her side, whatever that was. Cass thought it was actually pretty brave of her to beg for her life.  If she was a member of the Court of Owls, she knew that Talon couldn’t go against the Orders of the Grandmaster. That she was going to die. Most would have just accepted their fate with that knowledge.

Talon’s mask was unyielding and his tone was blank. “This is mercy. For others. Not you.”

Watching Talon take a life was disturbing, even for someone who had seen and caused as much death and destruction as she had. A blade appeared so quickly in each of Talon’s hands that Cass didn’t see where they had come from, and simultaneously the left one swiped across his victim’s throat, hitting both carotid arteries while the right blade jabbed into her chest, cleanly through her ribs and plunged into her heart. It was the naturalness of it that was the most alarming. Cass had always known that Dick was a lethal weapon. They all were. Their hands and their feet and every inch of their bodies had been trained to be able to use deadly force if necessary, and how to hold back when it wasn’t so that they did not. Talon was even more deadly, with enhanced strength, senses and reflexes and with the Orders that he had to carry out. Talon had no restrictions to hold back. It was opposite for him now. Opposite from Dick.

The woman was dead within seconds, blood spreading across the stage quicker than Cass would have thought possible.

There would be no opening night performance the next night on that stage.

Talon sheathed his blades, then made an inhuman jump back up onto the platform where Cass was watching from and without pausing, jumped again out the roof hatch that they had both entered the building through. She glanced back down to where the woman’s body was on the ground. For a moment she debated going down to investigate, but it was obviously pointless; Moira Adams was clearly very dead and Cass had no need to search for clues. Instead, she jumped up and swung through the hatch, following Talon. If he hadn’t seen her before, he certainly had on his way out.

As soon as her feet hit the top of the roof, she was immediately slammed against a brick wall, gloved hands pressing against her shoulders tight. Talon had pinned her before she could react. It didn’t exactly hurt, but she couldn’t get out from underneath.

“Black Bat is not supposed to see Talon on Missions,” hissed Talon. His hood had been pushed off and his golden eyes were glaring at her. He was angry. Angry and mad and hurt. He was exactly as he seemed. His fury didn’t lie.

“I was there first. Not my fault you did not see me.” She knew that she probably shouldn’t taunt him, but it was the truth.

“Talon saw Black Bat. And she saw Talon.” Talon leaned in closer and growled, deep and low in the back of his throat. “She made her choice to stay. To see. She could have left but she did not.” The pressure on Cass’ shoulders increased as Talon dug his hands in harder and it was starting to get uncomfortable, but she didn’t allow her body to show it. “She understands what Talon is and what he must do. More than the others. She should have known to leave.”

“What did she do? To deserve that?”

“The Court of Owls sentenced her to die.”

“Why?”

Talon just started at her. That is when she saw it, painted across his face, written into the bend his eyebrows and the corners of his mouth. Talon did not know what this Moira Adams had done or why she had to be killed. All he knew was that he had to obey the Order. Cass understood what that was like to a point. Before she had been a Bat, when she had been with Cain and Mother she had been given orders too. They were not exactly the same, but it was similar.

For a fraction of a second Talon squeezed even harder, pushing just over that pain tolerance threshold where she couldn’t hide it anymore. She didn’t make a sound, but he must have seen something in her face and he froze. He released his hands from her and pushed himself away. He was letting her go. She rolled her shoulders a few times to get the circulation flowing through them again. Talon took a few steps away and then spun around to glower at her again. “Override Two. Talon cannot hurt Black Bat. She is Family.” He paused and narrowed his gaze at her, looking like he was trying to figure out a very difficult problem. “But he wants to… hurt her? To… make her… understand. Talon is very angry. Inside. Black Bat did not listen to Talon and Batman’s words.”

This is it. This is one of those times that her family doesn’t see and she doesn’t understand why. One of the times when the person in front of her is both Talon and Dick, because she can see it clearly, even if no one else, including the man in front of her is unaware of it fully. Talon said he was angry inside, but Cass knows it is not exactly like that. Talon doesn’t have the right words to explain it properly, but she understands, because she knows what that is like as well.

It is very plain to her that Talon is not the one who is mad at her. It is Dick who is furious with her. Underneath. On the inside.

She can see it the way that she always did. The waves of anger running through is arms. The tightness in his neck. The only thing that is missing from before is how his eyes used to darken a fractional amount when Dick was trying to keep his anger in check. Those did not change now. The golden eyes remained the same. Harsh and unblinking. She would recognize that Dick looked like when he was trying to pretend he wasn’t angry anywhere.

She just had to think out what to do now that she had figured it out.

If this were Dick, it would have been one of the times where his actions would have matched his words. Where Cass would have understood him fully. It would have been a temper boiling point moment. Where he would have exploded and screamed at her and at the world in anger. Where they would have fought on the roof, in that strange space between sparring and actually fighting. They would have dealt with their anger that way, through action and reaction. Punches and blows. It wasn’t normal, but it was normal for them.

But this wasn’t all Dick. This was Talon too, and Talon couldn’t hurt his Family. He was unable to hurt them either with his words or with his body and Talon couldn’t do anything that Dick used to do to release the anger on his end.

She had to diffuse it on her side. She had to yield and back down. She had to give him this win.

Reflexively, she dropped her face to the ground, raised her right fist to her chest and moved it slowly in clockwise circles. ‘ _I’m sorry_.’ The sign was sad and small because she wanted him to know that she did feel regret, maybe not for watching him, but for the position that she had put him in. Talon had given up so much for their family and had only really asked for one thing, and it was to hide this part of him from them. And she had ignored his request. This was one of those times that she knew the words that she wanted to say, but they wouldn’t sound genuine if she said them aloud; it felt more sincere to sign them out.

She didn’t hear anything from him in response, so she looked up again and he was staring at her hands intently. Talon’s anger was gone, at least momentarily and he was looking at her hands like they were a strange and foreign items, but that he somehow understood. That they were a lifeline that he desperately needed. Whether or not he accepted her apology or not, he was distracted from his rage and now something else entirely was happening. Maybe something important. “Do you… still know ASL?” she asked quietly. She had understood Dick better before, when he signed with her instead of speaking out loud. The tone of his signs didn’t always match the rest of him, but at least the words made more sense visually.

Talon nodded slowly. He seemed to be thinking about something very carefully and she wondered if this was it. If this was the way that they could break through to him and be able to get all the information that they needed. A loophole to maybe talk to Dick, on the inside. Her hands flew through the signs, eager to know the answer. _‘Does it make it easier? To talk?’_

Talon hesitated and swallowed hard, before raising his hands slowly. _‘Haven’t tried. Didn’t remember.’_ His signs were methodical and slow. He looked at his hands and after only a few seconds Cass knew it wasn’t going to work. She could see the frustration growing on his face and through his shoulders. His body was at war with himself. He was trying to tell his hands to move a certain way, to say something to Cass, but his hands weren’t listening to his instructions. She understood because she often felt that way with words. She felt a pang of sadness for him, because now he felt that way about everything and there didn’t seem to be anything she could do for him.

Talon sighed and shook his head, confirming what she already had figured out. His anger stayed away, but a new frustration remained. “It is not easier to sign. Talon hoped it might be.” He flexed his fingers a number of times, watching them carefully, and the shook out his wrists. “The word… block. It is still there. Words are… words. Even if those words are spoken with hands.” He raised his hand to his mouth and then out and down to Cass. _‘Thank you.’_ He smiled at her and she smiled back. Both of the smiles were sad. “For trying. And for helping.”

Talon laid down on the roof and looked up at the cloudy sky. Cassandra sat down beside him and tilted her head up. She didn’t like that they couldn’t see the stars in Gotham. The liked the patterns that they made in the sky. The constellations. The stories that they told. It was like ballet, a bit, but in the sky.

Finally Talon sat back up and looked at Cass. He was much calmer than before. “Talon knows that Black Bat is sorry but she cannot do that again.” He stretched out his legs, and she saw him look at his feet. They were covered in Mrs. Adams’ blood. From the life that he had taken tonight. “Dick… did not… want Family… to see him like… that.” He nodded toward the roof hatch.

“He always tried to hide it too.” She agreed, but Talon had a confused expression. She had to try to find the words for it to make sense to him. “Dick was angry on the inside sometimes but he hid it from the family. Pretended to be happy instead. Not healthy.” She thought about Dick before. Trying to be patient with Damian. Trying to not fight with Bruce. It must have been exhausting to try and cover up his feelings like that. “You are Talon. But sometimes I see Dick. That?” she pointed back at the wall she had been shoved against. “That was Dick. He was angry with Cassandra for not listening. That was not Talon trying to hurt me.” Talon looked away from her and back up at the sky. Cass rolled her eyes. Why didn’t anyone see what she saw? “You do not agree.”

“Dick is Gone. Talon is here. But… the voice. There is something, but it… is…” He ran his hand through his hair slowly until he reached the back of his head, where he stopped and then just rubbed in the same spot. “Inaccessible? Locked. It is… confusing.”

“Confusing is okay. Being confused means that someone is thinking even if they do not understand yet.” She forms a heart with her hands and shows Talon. “I like you, Talon. You make more sense than Dick.” Talon grinned at her in response and it makes Cass feel a little sad. People keep talking to him about Dick, but she does not think that any one has told him that they like him on his own. Talon. “I will not stay next time. Unless you ask me to.”

“Why would Talon ask that?”

“Back up is sometimes needed.”

“Not for this. Black Bat and Family needs to stay away from things like this.”

She hummed in an indifferent way, but nodded to make sure that he knew that she understood. She wouldn’t make this mistake again. “Is your Mission over?”

“This Mission is Complete.”

“Does the Court have showers?” Talon nodded slowly, uncertain where she was going with the question. “Report in. Take hot shower. Clean up. Feel better.” He looked confused at her suggestion and Cass smiled. He needed to unwind after a rough night. They all did. She liked to watch TV and eat ice cream, but that wasn’t really something Talon could do.  What she wanted to do was to tell him to go home, but she knew that wasn’t possible. His homes had all been taken from him by the Court. Even Family couldn’t be home right now. Not really. “Your mission was successful. Relax now.”

“Celebrate small victories?”

“Yes. Dick would agree.”

“Maybe.” He looked back towards the hatch. Back to where the body was. Back to where he had killed Moira Adams for whatever reason the Court wanted her dead for. “Maybe not.” His voice was sad, like he knew the answer. Like he knew what Dick would say and that he would have not counted tonight as a victory. Dick had always thought that everyone could be saved.

This wasn’t something that a hot shower could fix.

“It is not your fault. What they make you do.”

“Will Black Bat tell Batman about tonight?” He was trying to change the subject, sort of. He wanted to know if Batman was going to know for certain that he had killed. Had broken the oath that Dick had taken all those years ago. They had known Talon had assassinated people before, but this was a first-hand account. One of their own had seen it. There was knowing and then there was _knowing_.

“No. He would not approve.” Talon’s head dropped. Oh. She needed to clarify her words. “Of my actions, not yours. He knows you are doing what you have to. I could have avoided seeing this. Breaking the rules. That was my fault.” Cass paused. She needed to tell someone though, about everything that had happened. Not just about the murder, but everything else. Talon’s emotional reaction to both the murder and being seen doing it. That she was sure that Dick was in there, without question. She had to make someone understand that, no matter what. Her best bet was Barbara. “I will tell Batgirl. She will have some ideas and will be more… understanding.”

Talon continued to stare at the rooftop beneath him. His breathing was deep and methodical. Meditative. Centering. Calming. Or trying to be. It sounded a little unsteady. “Maybe this could have all been avoided. Dick should have found another way. This… is not right.” Talon let out a strange distressed noise that Cass could only describe as a whine. Was Talon crying? Or as close as he was able to? The breathing was not working to calm him down. “Sometimes… Talon… regrets Dick’s… choice,” he quietly forced the words out.

Cass opened her mouth to argue with him or calm him, she wasn’t quite sure which, and she reached out to hold his hand and offer support, but without warning, Talon jumped up, ran at top speed and jumped off the roof. Within the matter of seconds that it took for Cass to stand and run to the ledge, he had vanished into the night. Talon was gone and she could not follow. This was a wrong and she could not fix it. She didn’t have the right words to try and help even if she did find him. She needed someone else to help with this.

And the worst part was that the last thing that Talon had said to her hadn't been said by Talon at all.

No. Those words had been spoken by Dick.


	5. Sixteen Months (Talon)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Talon did not like living with the Court of Owls, but he had grown accustomed to it.

Talon did not like living with the Court of Owls, but he had grown accustomed to it. There was a familiarity of sorts. He knew all the doors, hallways and rooms, even if he could not enter them all without permission. He knew where people usually appeared from and could see that there was a pattern in when they came and went. He had a routine of sorts to fill his time. He trained. He sharpened his blades. He read. He took hot showers that made his skin warm and pink and feel slightly alive.

He did not understand time anymore. He knew how it worked. The Earth circled the Sun. Night and Day. Twenty four hours, three hundred and sixty five days. But those things did not apply to Talon any longer. Talon just… was. He could not tell the difference between a minute or a day any more, especially when he was alone. He did know that time had passed though and he had slight ways of telling that things were changing around him. Snow meant that it was winter. The intense hot smells meant summer.

His main knowledge that time was passing was that Robin had grown bigger. Talon noticed it when they stood together on rooftops. Robin was not as small as Talon remembered. It would not be long before he would be taller than Talon.

He did not know what he thought about that.

Sometimes Talon played games in the compound to keep himself entertained when he was left alone for what felt like long periods of time. He liked to see how fast he could go through the maze of rooms in different ways. Sometimes he tried to do it without touching the floor. Sometimes he did it walking on his hands or blindfolded or both. He stacked all the books in the atrium to see how high they would go. One day he built a fort out of all of the chairs that he could find. For the most part, being a talon for the Court of Owls was boring. Talon did not handle boredom well and had to keep busy.

No games now though. He has been summoned into the Bright Room.

Talon hates the Bright Room. It is his least favourite part of the compound. It hurts his eyes and makes it hard for him to see. If Grandmaster was going to punish Talon for something, it would be in the Bright Room. It was where he had woken up as Talon. Nothing good ever happened to Talon in the Bright Room. The thing about the Bright Room was that it meant that he was going to see the Grandmaster, and that meant he was probably going to be Ordered to go on a Mission. He did not like Missions, but the voice in Talon’s head said it was important for Talon to do his Missions successfully. Going on a Mission meant that the Talon was doing his job to keep the Court happy and that Family was safe. He had to do what they wanted for Family and because of Override Two.

The voice. It had been there since he had woken up as Talon.

Talon had a complicated relationship with the voice.

The voice talked to Talon and Talon could talk back to it. Talking with the voice was easy, much easier, than it was to speak to other people. Words between them were free. The voice told him things and kept him company. It was warm and familiar even if it was a little bit confusing. Talon liked the voice most of the time but he did not always understand it. He wondered if all Talon’s had a voice in their heads and if it talked to them while they were sleeping. Talon was bored, but without the voice it would be worse.

Maybe. Or maybe the voice made it worse than Talon thought. Talon knew that the voice was what was left of Before. The voice was all that was left of Dick. Being aware of Before was hard.

That was what made it complicated. If the voice was Dick, it is the voice’s fault that Talon is with the Court at all. Talon was angry with the voice because of that. Would not having the voice in Talon’s head be better? Would not knowing be better? More simple?

Talon did not know. The voice did not know either.

But the voice and Talon always agreed on one thing. They were keeping Family safe. Together. It was all that mattered.

Talon kept telling Family that Dick was Gone. He knew that was not right but the words were not there to explain it otherwise. Dick was both there and not there, but as the voice, not as Dick used to be.

Schrodinger’s Dick. Talon thought that was funny. So did the voice. He was not sure whose joke it was.

Talon blinked a few times as he walked into the Bright Room, trying to adjust his eyes. When things started to become clearer, he is surprised to see that all of the Owls were there that night, lined up in their seats on either side of the room. Like a Parliament. Had it been a month since they had all gathered already? The Grandmaster was at his podium at the end of the room, in his position of honour, waiting for Talon. Was he late? He did not think that he was late but he had no way to know. He hurried to his spot, kneeling in front of the Grandmaster, to wait for his instructions.

“Talon, the Court has deemed this individual as one who needs to be punished in accordance with our laws. He has come to Gotham recently and has been causing harm and had be acting in a way opposed to the desire of the Court.” A picture appeared on the wall behind the Grandmaster. It was a tall, lean man and he was wearing red. Not blood red. Nice red. Happy red. The Grandmaster was still talking and Talon knew that it was important that he listen, so that he knows the details of the Mission, but he could not focus on the Grandmasters words. He could not stop looking at the man’s face. He was wearing a mask, but Talon knew the face under it and the voice was being demanding in his head. It was confusing his thoughts. He would not have been able to hear Grandmaster over the voice even if he were not distracted by the image on the screen.

The voice was getting so loud. It was making Talon’s brain itch and he had to interrupt the Grandmaster. He would be punished for insolence, but he could not keep quiet. “Talon cannot, Grandmaster.”

The Grandmaster stopped talking and glared at Talon. He slowly came out from behind his podium and stood directly in front of Talon. Talon raised his head to look him in the eyes, and waiting silently. “You disobey me?” Grandmaster’s voice was low and calm, but Talon knew that voice. Grandmaster was not calm at all. Grandmaster was not pleased.

“Talon cannot perform the Mission, Grandmaster.”

“And why is that, Gray Son?”

“Override Two, Grandmaster. Family.” Talon’s response was immediate. The voice cheered. Talon had to look down to help hide his smile. The voice sounded so happy. Talon was glad that he made the voice happy. It was rarely happy in the compound.

“This person is not Family.”

“Family, Grandmaster.”

“They aren’t from Gotham. They are not a Bat. They are not Family.” Grandmaster began to pace between the rows of Owls. He looked angry. Talon knew that was not a good thing and he fought his body’s need to fidget. He stood as still as possible.

“He is Family, Grandmaster.” The voice supplied him with a word, and Talon said it without question. He had to trust that the voice was right. If it was Override Two, the voice had to be right. “Flash.” His brain made connections and he kept talking, even though he knew that his words would displease the Grandmaster more. “Flash is Family. Talon cannot harm Family.”

“Explain.” The Grandmaster hissed at him and Talon tried to not recoil. Things did not go well when he heard that sound from Grandmaster.

“Flash is Family.” Talon didn’t know how else to say it so that it made sense to the Grandmaster. Why didn’t Grandmaster understand? It was so clear to Talon. There were rules and he was following them. This was one that he had to follow intently. It could not be broken. “Override Two means Talon cannot harm Family. That means Talon cannot harm Flash.”

Grandmaster stopped pacing and stared at Talon. It was uncomfortable, the way that he looked at him. “Fine. We will send someone else to deal with the situation. Talon, you are dismissed.”

Talon stood but waited. Was he allowed to talk? He had been dismissed. That meant he could leave and he was not going to be punished. He was probably meant to leave without question but he decided to try. They were trying to go around the Agreement. Around Override Two. He had to try and stop them. “You cannot, Grandmaster.” Talon heard a gasp from one of the Owls. They thought he had made a mistake. He should not have spoken; but he had to. There were rules. He swallowed, and gathered his courage to finish. “Override Two means The Court cannot harm Family either.”

Grandmaster reacted faster than Talon thought he could. He grabbed Talon by the wrist and dragged Talon to the podium. Talon scrambled to his feet and tried not to struggle, but he was afraid. A talon could not hurt the Grandmaster. He could not hurt any of the Owls either unless ordered by the Grandmaster. He could not fight back from what was going to happen. “You dare to question our decisions? To defy the Court and its mission?” It sounded like a warning, but Talon knew it was not. He was in trouble no matter what he said or did now. He could have brought The Flash’s head on a platter for Grandmaster and he would not have escaped his punishment.

“Family cannot be harmed.” He saw Grandmaster’s eyes narrow, heard his angry exhale. “Family is protected from the Court.”

“Or? What will you do if we do not abide?” The Grandmaster’s fingers tightened around his wrist and he pulled a knife from his robe with his other hand. He slammed Talon’s hand on the podium, and held it firm against the grain. The knife glinted in the light, shining in Talon’s eyes.

“Talon will protect Family.” Talon whispered, knowing what was coming next. He wanted to look away, but he stared into the Grandmaster’s face. “Talon will protect Wally from the Court.”

Grandmaster plunged the knife into Talon’s hand, through the back and through the palm until the blade stuck into the podium. Talon bit back a whimper. It hurt. It would not kill him. It would heal quicker than it would have Before. It would not even scar. But it still hurt and he wanted to struggle, but he stood still, biting down the pain.

Most blades did not hurt Talon. The Grandmaster’s blades did. Talon did not know what made them different.

“I see. He’s Wally now, is he?” The Grandmaster whispered into Talon’s ear. Talon gave a small shrug with the opposite shoulder to the hand that had been stabbed. He did not know where that word had come from, but it seemed to fit in the pieces in his brain. The voice was trying to get him to remain calm. The voice was proud of how strong Talon was being and how good it was that he used the word. Wally. It kept repeating it over and over. _WallyWallyWally_.

One of the Owls in the pews stood. Through the pain, Talon thought that he looked small and weak. If he were Ordered to, the Owl would be easy to kill, even without Talon’s blades. His neck would be quick to snap. The voice didn’t like that thought but he did agree with how weak and feeble the Owl looked. The Owl cleared his breakable throat before addressing the room. “Grandmaster, if I may, I have a concern in relation to the Talon’s Override directives.”

“And what is that?” Grandmaster turned his head from Talon to look at the Owl, but he twisted the knife in a little as he did so. Talon clenched his teeth together to keep from crying out.

“If the Gray Son is unable to target the vigilantes in Gotham, and he is now showing the inability to pursue The Flash, is it possible that there are more people that he is unable to target without our knowledge? From our research and observation, Nightwing did appear to be very popular in certain circles.” The Owl raised his hands to his compatriots, like his was trying to get them to rally to his call. His ears perked up at the mention of Nightwing. He liked Nightwing. Nightwing used to be Red Robin. Talon knew that Dick used to be Nightwing too. They were talking about DickNightwing, not RedRobinNightwing and they concerned about DickNightwing’s friends. Were they all Family? Talon did not know. Neither did the voice, but it liked the idea. “The wording of the arrangement, the usage of the term ‘perceived family’, is becoming problematic and it is a liability to the operations of the Court. We expected it to pertain to the family and close associates of Batman, however it is extending much further than that, as seen tonight.”

The Grandmaster narrowed his eyes at the Owl, and Talon thought that he was somehow getting angrier, but at least the focus was now on the Owl and not on Talon. “The focus of this Court is to the improvement and sustainability of Gotham as we see fit. If Talon’s Override Two directive applies to others from outside our agenda, it should not be an issue. The Flash being here is not a common occurrence and is an annoyance, but it is not an ongoing permanent threat. I suspect he will be out of our purview soon. We can examine this complication further, but at this time, it is not urgent. It is well known that Batman does not appreciate other heroes or vigilantes or meta humans within the city. Flash will leave. The problem should not arise again soon.” The Grandmaster sounded menacing, but the Owl did not back down on look away. Talon was actually impressed with his bravery. Perhaps his neck would have been not so easy to break. He had… gumption.

Another Owl rose farther along the bench, red in the face and he was angry. “Why is he even awake? We should have put him in storage as planned! Even if Cobb is gone, one of the others would work just as well.” These words brought Talon’s attention back. He had not been in storage since he had first woken up as Talon and from that short moment he knew about it, he did not want to go back. Storage was small and tight and cold. And Cobb was another Talon. He knew this. From Before. From Dick. Talon knew that they were connected. Cobb was gone? Where had he gone? It did not sound as if he had been decommissioned. Talon had known that Cobb was not sleeping with the other talons. Talon visited them often. They looked lonely and he did not want them to be lonely so he sometimes sat and read to them. Being alone was… sad. Talon wondered sometimes if they had voices in their heads too, keeping them company when he was sleeping.

Grandmaster pulled the blade from his hand and Talon gasped at the sudden movement. The blade hurt even more coming out than it had going in. Talon was pushed back towards his original spot in the room as the Grandmaster strode over to where the second Owl stood by his seat. This Owl _did_ flinch when he was approached. He did not stand strong and his fear radiated in the room. Grandmaster sneered at him. “Even though he can’t go after Batman and his associates, having the Gray Son visible keeps them in line. They will not do anything rash or against our wishes when they are able to actively see him. They will not do anything to cross the Court if they think he will be hurt in retribution.” Grandmaster pulled the Owl forward by his shirt and over the barrier in front of the seating. The Owl struggled in the Grandmaster’s tight told. “And he is still our greatest weapon. It would be irresponsible not to use him.” Grandmaster pushed the blade against the Owl’s cheek. It was still covered with Talon’s blood. “Does anyone else have anything to add?”

There was a moment of silence and then the room got very loud. Voices were everywhere, loud and angry, yelling across the room at each other. The Owl with the knife against him said nothing, but he trembled with fear. The Grandmaster did not waver. He held the blade steady and tight against the Owl, but did not break the skin. Their words were getting jumbled for Talon and he was not sure what he was to do next. His hand hurt and it was difficult to stay focused. He was unable to do anything if things in the room escalated further unless he was commanded by the Grandmaster. He tried to distract himself. Thinking about other things helped Talon avoid thinking about the pain in his hand, the bright lights that he had still not adjusted to fully and the loud sounds in the room. He tried to think of things from Before. It was hard but it made the pain in his hand hurt less to think of other things. Like ice cream and elephants. Fuzzy blankets. Lullabies. He had never mentioned thoughts like these to The Grandmaster. These things had no place in the mind of Talon, even if they made him feel warm. He liked them. They were his secrets.

“Silence!” It was a loud and commanding tone from the Grandmaster and it made Talon want to be more silent than he already was. That was an Order. The Owls all halted their shouts at the demand as well. The Grandmaster, still with his knife against the Owl, turned his attention back towards Talon. “Gray Son. Leave.” He released the Owl and pushed him back towards his seat. The man was rubbing his hand on his neck and breathing heavily. He knew that he was lucky to still be alive. “If you are unable to perform this Mission, you are not needed here tonight and we have other things to discuss that do not concern you. The Court will not go after Flash as per Override Two, however, it will be re-visited in the future.” Talon bowed slightly and then he backed away from the Grandmaster, holding his hand close to his chest. He turned swiftly when he reached the door ran out of the Bright Room as quickly as he could.

Talon hated the Bright Room.

As soon as he was clear from the Grandmaster and Owls, Talon ran through the maze and out one of his favourite passages to rise up into Gotham, away from the compound. It was the one that he used most often, and came out in a public parking garage. It was near the boardwalk and normally full of people, but it was empty tonight. Talon guessed that it was too late for most people to be out. He ran up the ramps to the top floor and jumped off the building, wings extending, soaring to the next. Talon knew that he was probably not supposed to leave the compound tonight. The Grandmaster had not been specific, but Talon was doubtlessly meant to return to his nest, not leave the premise. Talon was choosing to not listen to unspoken intentions. He said leave, so Talon left. The Grandmaster should have been more specific if he did not want Talon to go outside. The Grandmaster knew that he left the compound when he didn’t have instructions to remain inside. Talon knew that he would be summoned back eventually, but he needed to run and fly now. He needed to get away.

Talon did not know how long he flew across the city. His hand healed quickly, unnaturally, skin stitching itself closed, but it still ached beneath the surface. Talon had had this happen before. Worse things too. They did not leave marks but the pain remained much longer than it should.

Talon knew that he had been outside for a long time. The sky had gotten darker and then started to get lighter again, the streets even quieter. He had travelled far across the city when he finally stopped.

There was something that caught his eye.

It was the dark and the quiet that made what he saw stand out even more. There was a construction site for a new tower and there was a semi-permanent scaffolding on the outer edge of the build. There was something strange up there. Something out of place. Someone.

Sitting on top of a beam, was a figure in red. Happy red. It was the same happy red that had been in the picture. A happy red that stood out in Gotham’s darkness. It did not fit in this city. Talon shook his head. Of course the Court had seen him. Talon could see him. Talon could hear him too. He was tapping his hands on the beam. It was not very loud, but the night was very still and Talon had very good hearing. It stood out.

Talon silently climbed the frame and pulled himself up onto the beam, and couched down beside the outsider. He hadn’t seen Talon yet. “Flash.”

Flash yelped, flinched in surprise and slapped his hand over his mouth. He whipped his head around and took in who was beside him. Talon was not wearing his cowl that night. He had ran away without it. “You scared the crap out of me.” Flash said carefully. It was like he did not know how Talon would react to him. Talon thought it was a valid concern. Flash did not know any different. “How’d you find me?”

“Flash is very bright. It is bad for hiding.” Talon paused, listening to the voice, and agreed with the words. He passed them onto Flash the best that he could. “Also, he is noisy. He somehow gets louder the harder he attempts to stay quiet.”

Flash chuckled. He knew that he was not quiet. “Yeah, I guess subtlety has never really been my strength.” Flash looked at Talon carefully, at the way he was perched on the beam next to him. “Is your arm alright? You’re holding it funny.”

Talon pulled his hand in tighter against his chest and shook his head. His hand was not the issue. It would be fine. His hand was not the problem tonight. But it was a reaction to a problem. “Flash is doing something noisy. He needs to stop.” Flash stopped tapping his hands and opened his mouth to say something but Talon did not let him. Talon needed to talk first. He did not want to know what Flash was doing. If Talon knew, The Grandmaster could possibly pull it from him. “Talon knows not what he is doing, but Flash has the attention of the Court. That is bad. He needs to stop.”

Flash looked at Talon very carefully, taking in Talon’s words and body language. “Are you here to stop me?”

“No. But Talon… needs… you to stop.” Why would the words not come out the way Talon wanted? He needed Flash to stop drawing attention to himself. To go unnoticed by the Court. “Or at least be more… sneaky.”

“Sneaky?” Talon did not know how to respond. He like the word and how it felt in his head. Nightwing had told him that he was sneaky by leaving the compound when he wasn’t supposed to. Flash needed to be sneaky like Talon could be.

“Silent. Shadows. Invisible.”

“That advice coming from you is hilarious. You probably don’t remember but I saw both the Robin and Nightwing original costumes. Not stealthy in the least.”

Talon couldn’t contain a frustrated growl. “Talon is trying to keep Flash alive,” he snapped. He understood that Flash was trying to be funny but it was not the time. Not when the Court was arguing about how to go around Override Two. Flash recoiled at Talon’s tone. That was not good. He was not trying to scare Flash. Not have him be scared of Talon, anyway. Talon shook his head. He had to think more carefully. Choose words better. Calm down. “Whatever Flash is trying to do, he needs to find a different way.” Talon sighed. Sitting with Flash felt familiar. Safe. Warm like a blanket. Even if the news was not good. “The Court is trying to find a way around Override Two to stop him.”

Flash relaxed, but looked concerned with Talon’s words. “Well, that’s not good.” He tilted his head back to look up at the sky as he thought about what Talon had said. He let out a short laugh and Talon turned to look at him. Flash met his eyes, smiling. “I’m Family, huh?”

“Yes. Always.” Talon looked back over the city below them and nodded. “Titans Together.” The words felt familiar in his mouth. Silence passed between them for a while. It was a nice quiet. Relaxing after a night that had not been so far. Even the voice was quiet. It felt normal sitting beside Flash. Talon didn’t feel normal very often anymore. He tried to memorize the feeling. It made his hand hurt less.

When Flash broke the silence, his voice was easy and earnest. “It really means that much to you, doesn’t it? That I stop what I was doing?” Talon nodded. “Fine. I’ll stop, but I’m not giving up. Knowing that I’m pissing them off only means that we’re getting closer. I’ll switch tactics.”

“Good.” Talon readjusted on the beam, with one leg dangling underneath and the other curled up in front of him. He hugged his arms around the leg, and rested his head on his knee, looking at Flash. “Why is Flash in Gotham? No details, but… why?”

“Batman needed some speed on his side for something so he invited me. I was supposed to stay under the radar though so I guess that’s a bust. He’s going to be pissed.”

“No explosions. Could have been worse.” Talon could remember many things exploding with Flash. Kid Flash. Wally. Things had always gone boom with Wally. “Flash should go soon. Talon cannot promise that it is safe in Gotham for him. The Court… they are… angry with him. Whatever he was doing.”

“Alright.” Flash agreed with Talon, but made no effort to move. Neither did Talon. He liked it here. He did not want to leave either. “They were right, though? Batman and Batgirl? That this is one of the entrances to the headquarters? The tunnel underneath?” Flash was pointing to a man hole cover in the street. It looked like any other cover, but it did not lead into the sewers like the others. It lead to the trains. It lead to the Court if someone knew what to look for.

Talon stared at the hole and tried to sort out his words. Work around the blocks. “Talon cannot… say that it is… not… an entrance.” There. That was what he wanted to say even if it was not the easiest way to say it.

“Can you tell me how many entrances there are?” Talon shook his head firmly. Flash looked at him with a blank expression and then chuckled to himself. “Of course I come all the way to Gotham for work and end up playing word games with my best friend. Seems about right.” Flash ran his fingers through his hair and licked his lips while he thought. “Are there more than eight entrances?”

Talon stared at Flash. “Yes…”

“Are there more than ten entrances?”

“Talon… cannot say…”

“Alright then. Are there _less_ than ten entrances?”

The voice was giggling. “Yes…” How was this working? Had the Court not locked down the location and entrances in Talon’s head harder than that? Talon did not know but he did not mind. It was lucky.

“Are they bigger than a bread box?” Talon snorted. Of course the entrances were bigger than a bread box. Silly Flash.

“That’s good. Great, really.” They both knew what that meant if neither of them said the words. Nine entrances. And Family had found all of them. “You were right though. I should get headed back home and I have to stop by the Cave first to check in with Batman on my way out of town. Thanks for the heads up, bro. You’ve always kept me out of trouble. I miss you watching my six all the time.” Flash lifted arm and held his hand in a fist and for a moment Talon was confused. The fist wasn’t moving. It was not a punch. Flash wasn’t trying to hurt Talon. He was waiting for something.

 _Bump it_. The voice prompted him. _Take your fist and bump it lightly against his. It will make him happy._

Talon mirrored his own uninjured arm in a similar fashion and bumped his knuckles against Flash’s. His handle reflexively broke apart and Flash’s did the same. They both broke out into huge smiles. The voice cheered. It had been right. It usually was.

“I’ll see you around, Talon.” And with a crackle of lightening Flash was gone, leaving Talon sitting alone on the beam.

Talon curled himself up tighter into a ball and watched the sparks of lightening following Flash away from the city. His eyes were just quick enough to catch sight of the trail left behind. “Bye, Wally.”

Talon sat on the beam for a while. He did not know how long but the sky was starting to lighten across the water. He felt the tug in his head. Not the voice. The call of the Grandmaster. Talon had to return to the Court. Back to the compound. He wondered how the night ended there after he had left. If there would be any bodies left in the Bright Room or if all of the Owls were still alive. If The Grandmaster would be waiting for him or if they would leave him alone for a while.

Talon found that he didn’t care. They could punish him. They could ignore him. It would not matter. Because things were happening and Talon had hope again.

His Family was finding their way to him. Slowly, but surely, they were coming for him.

It was enough for now.


	6. Twenty Months (Barbara)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She went into her kitchen to make some tea to drink while she worked and to warm up from the cold air outside. That was when she felt it. She was standing with her back to the window, filling up the kettle at the sink and there was a different inescapable feeling. Definitely not one of leaving the oven on. She couldn’t quite explain how she knew, exactly. It wasn’t like she had goosebumps on the back of her neck or she felt uneasy. If anything, it was familiar.
> 
> It was another night where she felt she was being watched and she knew exactly who it was. Same person it always was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1\. I have updated the number of chapters that this story is going to have. Unless something gets wildly out of hand and needs to get broken up, this is going to be 12 chapters long, which means we are halfway there. 50% done party!
> 
> 2\. There are some slight references to [Five Times with Feeling](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12482312/chapters/28412904) in this. 100% not necessary to read for it to make sense, but thought I would mention it because it might make a little more sense of my headcanons regarding Dick/Babs.

Barbara smiled as she pulled her phone out of her pocket after turning off her bike’s engine. Four missed texts: one checking to make sure that she got home safe, one thanking her for a fun night, followed by a question asking if she was going to be available on Tuesday for a trip to the bookstore to browse the stacks and grab a coffee. The last text made her laugh because he apologized for maybe texting too much too soon to be cool and being too excited to see her again. Nerd glasses emoji.

She always had liked guys who owned up to their awkwardness.

By all accounts, tonight had been a good date. A really good date, actually. It had been shorter than she would have liked, but dinner had been delicious, the conversation flowing and it had ended with a pretty fantastic goodnight kiss when she dropped Jake off at Gotham General for his shift on her bike. Trying to find time to see each other between his erratic trauma surgeon schedule, her CEO responsibilities of Gordon Clean Energy, school, and then her secret (to him) night job, but they were making it work so far. It had only been a few weeks of playful flirting and a handful of dates but she was cautiously optimistic.

The only thing that made her hesitate before responding was _Tuesday_.

Hanging out with anyone, friend or potential more than friend, always somehow felt wrong on Tuesdays. It wasn’t a dating thing; it was more like thinking that she had left the oven on and couldn’t shake the feeling until she physically checked to make sure it wasn’t. Something in her brain just always tried to remind her that she couldn’t do anything on Tuesday’s because she was already busy. It had been that way for years.

Tuesday had always been her and Dick’s day to hang out if at all possible and as long as the fate of the world wasn’t currently hanging in the balance. Dating, not dating, whatever. It had started when they were kids watching their favourite TV show and evolved from there. For years she had a standing weekly meetup with him and it was hard to shake the pattern, even after he had already been gone for close to two years. It was a permanent etching in her eidetic memory and impossible to erase.

Barbara was definitely a creature of habit.

She looked back down to her phone. She wasn’t busy this Tuesday. She didn’t _want_ to be busy on Tuesday either. She wanted to see Jake again. Barbara sent him back a thumbs up emoji and confirmed that she’d see him there. She tried to ignore the butterflies in her stomach when he sent her a goofy smiley face in return.

She was falling. Hard and fast, without a line to catch her.

As she entered her apartment in the Clocktower, she shrugged off her coat and hung it on the hook behind the door and kicked off her boots. She wasn’t going to be hitting the streets Batgirl-ing tonight, but she was going to be doing some research into one of her employees at GCE because she had reason to believe that he was selling information to a competing company. Not necessarily Bat-related from the outside, but when that competing company was owned by Oswald Copplepot, it was definitely more than potential mild corporate espionage. Her gut was telling her that it was less of an HR issue and more of a need-to-kick-Penguin-in-the-face issue.  She didn’t like it when her two worlds collided like that.

She went into her kitchen to make some tea to drink while she worked and to warm up from the cold air outside. That was when she felt it. She was standing with her back to the window, filling up the kettle at the sink and there was a different inescapable feeling. Definitely not one of leaving the oven on. She couldn’t quite explain how she knew, exactly. It wasn’t like she had goosebumps on the back of her neck or she felt uneasy. If anything, it was familiar.

It was another night where she felt she was being watched and she knew exactly who it was. Same person it always was.

Talon was out there, somewhere close by, watching her.

Again.

At first, she had been upset when she had realised what was happening. Talon would speak or interact with everyone else, except her and Jason. He would disappear when Jason saw him, but not her. He just watched and followed her around. Everywhere. All of the time. Everyone else saw him too, but it was more occasional, but direct, with them, where one of them saw him every couple of weeks and most interactions were quick and fleeting. Not her. She saw him probably at least once a week and she was pretty sure that he was watching her a lot more frequently than that.

A few months in she stopped feeling hurt about and had become aggravated instead. It just wasn’t fair. She’d rather him be there and at least say something than just lurk. She had yelled at him a lot about it; across rooftops, up at him from the streets. She had thrown a few batarangs at him once that he just knocked aside, but didn’t leave. Just stared and watched silently. He didn’t interfere when she was patrolling; if she got in a fight, he let it happen but she was sure that if she got in serious trouble that he’d jump in.

By now, she had just accepted that it was something that happened in her life. Probably not the most healthy way to go about it, but she was resigned in the fact that she probably couldn’t get him to stop no matter what she did.

And to be honest, she didn’t really want him to stop. She missed Dick so much. Seeing Talon was better than not knowing where he was or if he was even alive. She just wished that he would say something. Anything. The silence was deafeningly infuriating.

She exhaled slowly and leaned against the countertop to try and figure out what to do. It wasn’t often that she felt this way in her own home. He tended to just follow her around on patrol and leave her alone when she was home but something about tonight felt different. Had something changed for him to be watching her here? She stirred some sugar into her tea decided that she might as well give it another try. She grabbed her drink, slipped on a sweater and a pair of slippers, and went out to her balcony.

It was a cool night and her balcony was damp from the rain earlier in the day. She strode out to the centre, bathed in the glow of the clock face, and spoke before she turned in the direction that she felt the eyes on her. “I know you are there, Talon.” Barbara looked up, and of course there he was, as expected, sitting on the edge of one of the railings above her head. Hood off, no mask, just sitting there, staring at her with unblinking golden eyes. “It’s been almost two years. You can at least do me the courtesy of talking to me if you are going to stalk me in my own home from the shadows.” She stepped back, closer to the door, but she waved her hand at the edge, inviting him to visit.

Instead of staying put or flying off the side of the building, he dropped down onto the balcony where she had pointed and he curled up into a ball on the railing, perched like a bird on a wire. It was a lot more than she had expected because he usually didn’t react to her words at all. Now that he was on the same level, she thought that he looked different than all the previous times she had seen him up close. His eyes were tight in the corners and he seemed… twitchy, for lack of a better word. It wasn’t that he was moving, but he was trying overly hard to stay still and it was overcompensating. Like someone trying not to shiver when they were freezing. Dick had often gotten a look similar to it when he was trying to keep a secret when he really didn’t want to. Was this this something similar? “Are you alright?” she asked quietly.

Talon started to open his mouth but he snapped it closed again almost immediately. Barbara sighed and took a sip of her tea. He had done that with her a couple times, but not when they were alone. A few times that they had been in a group she had said something and he seemed to want to reply, until he remembered that he wasn’t talking to her for whatever reason that he had, and just clammed up again. It was hard to ignore.

“I might be able to help if you tell me what’s wrong. Even if I can’t help, I can still listen.” Talon tucked his face into his knees. She had no idea what to do. “Or not. We could just sit here.”

Barbara sat down on the bench against the wall and waited. It was wet, but she didn’t want to take her eyes off him and go find something to dry it off in case he took the opportunity to just disappear back into the night. Eventually, Talon lifted his head and stared at her again. “Talon is… sad.” She jerked at the sound of his raw, gravelly, voice. She hadn’t thought that he would actually say anything and if he was going to, she wasn’t expecting him to sound like that; like he had given up and it was the end of the world. “And happy.” He smiled with a shrug of his shoulders, but it looked anything other than happy. He looked miserable. “Talon is both.”

“Can you explain?” It was weird to hear him like this. Dick had always been straightforward with her, even if he was being cagey with other people. She knew that this is how Talon spoke now, but it was hard to hear firsthand.

He minutely rocked himself back and forth a few times. Was he trying to self sooth himself? That was a depressing thought. “It is hard. Confusing. Talons are not meant to have feelings. Talon is different than the other sleeping talons.”

“You are.” She agreed. There was only one thing that she could think of since the last time that she had seen him and now that could have triggered him to start talking to her. Something that specifically concerned her. “We can figure it out together if that helps. Figuring out what is making you sad might make you feel less sad.” Talon gave a small nod and uncurled himself from his ball, placing his feet on the ground and shifting into a leaning position against the railing. “Were you watching me earlier tonight?”

“Yes. Talon watches Batgirl many nights.”

“I know. Do you know why?”

“Batgirl is Family. Talon needs to keep Family safe and happy,” the response sounded pre-programmed, but he was looking down at the railing, scratching into the stonework with one of his claws. “Batgirl is something else too. Something… bigger? Talon cannot say the right words.”

“That’s okay. I understand.” Talon hummed and watched his claw work on the railing. “If you were watching me tonight, you saw me kiss Jake.” It hadn’t been their first kiss, but it had been the first on that was really out in public and on display for anyone, including any lurking ex-boyfriend’s she had, to see.

Talon scratched the railing and hummed again. “Yes. It is what made Talon sad. And happy.” He continued to scratch a few more times before he stopped. “Both.” He retracted his claws into his suit. “Confusing.” Talon looked up at the sky and thought for a few seconds. “Is Batgirl happy?”

“I am.”

“Then it is acceptable that Talon is sad. Batgirl being happy is more important.” Talon continued to stare upwards. Barbara was pretty sure that he was just avoiding look at her at this point.

“Thank you for making sure I’m happy, but I don’t want you to be sad.” She stood up and took a step towards him. “Will you be okay if you see me with Jake again?”

“Talon is immortal. He is always fine.”

“You know what I meant. Don’t try and play dumb now. The light bulbs in there are working at a different wattage, not dead.” She didn’t mean to snap at him, but the words came out harsher that she would have liked. It did manage to get him to look back at her again though.

Talon smiled at her gloomily.

“As long as he makes you happy, Babs. I’m happy for you.” The smile remained, except it wasn’t Talon anymore. For a brief moment in time, Dick Grayson was smiling at her. He was crushed and heartbroken and looking like he was holding back tears, but it was definitely _Dick_. And in an instant, just as quick, it was gone again. Her breath caught in her throat and she swore that her heart stopped beating. Dick was _in_ there. She knew it. She saw it. She finally saw what Cass had been trying to tell her for months. It’s not that she hadn’t believed Cass, far from it, but it was hard to have an objective opinion when he hadn’t said a word to her until tonight.

“You haven’t called me that in a long time.” She said carefully. She didn’t want to spook him. She wasn’t sure that Talon knew that he had even said anything unusual.

“Came out. Felt right.” His eyes grew large in alarm and he suddenly looked panicked. “Was that not right?” He looked away and muttered to himself. “The voice says it was right…”

“It was right, Talon.” His gaze met hers again and she reached out her hand. He outstretched his own out and she latched on and held it. “Thank you, Dick.” She knew from the others that while Talon didn’t mind talking _about_ Dick, he typically didn’t like being referred to _as_ Dick, insisting that they were different, but it didn’t seem to bother him right now. In fact, he had nodded at her words.

Was he agreeing that it had been Dick speaking?

“Is..”  Talon swallowed, “Jake?” Barbara nodded, confirming the name for him. “Is he… Family?” He was stumbling over his words, like he did with the others when he was trying to go around Court restrictions, but this wasn’t like that. There was no way that there were restrictions put on something like this, mainly because the Court wouldn’t care. He was choosing his words carefully because he wanted to, not because he needed to. “Talon does not wish to hurt him, but needs… direction. In… case of… Orders.”

Barbara couldn’t think of a reason why Jake would ever find himself in the position of being a target of the Court, even if they were together. She barely seemed to register as a blip on their radar herself. Was this the talon equivalent of stalking an old girlfriend on social media? “That’s a rather personal question from an ex, but no. I wouldn’t consider him Family yet.” Talon’s face brightened a little bit, but she had to clarify, make sure that he understood fully. “That is not me saying you can hurt him. Please don’t. He’s just a civilian. He’s a doctor. He helps people. The thing between us, it’s new, but it’s getting serious fast. I really like him.” Talon nodded slightly, indicating that he understood and she relaxed a fraction, but she needed to know something else. “Are you jealous?”

“Dick only wanted you to be happy.” The non answer was all the answer that she needed. She squeezed his hand a little bit tighter.

“You did. He did. And I am.” They both stood silently as her words sank in. She was happy, but she felt guilty that she was when Talon wasn’t and hadn’t been in a long time. “How about this? I will tell you as soon as something changes. If Jake and I become something more. I don’t understand how your Override Two works, exactly,”

“Neither does Talon.”

“But what if I tell you if I think of him as _my_ family? And then if that falls into Family, that’s great.” Talon grimaced, like part of him was physically adverse to the idea of Barbara’s maybe sort of boyfriend transitioning to being Family. “And if that doesn’t work, can you tell me? So at least I’ll know that he isn’t safe from the Court?”

There was a long moment of silence as the words sank in and Talon considered their implications. Finally, he nodded slowly. “Yes. Talon wishes for Batgirl’s family to be Family.” He tilted his head to the side. “How?”

“How what?”

“How will Batgirl tell Talon? She does not always see him.”

“Oh.” She thought quickly, trying to ignore the confirmation that he was following her around even more than she knew. “Wait here.” She let go of his hand and went back into the Clocktower and grabbed something from her bedroom. When she went back onto the balcony, Talon was no longer sitting against the railing; instead he was standing where she had been previously. “See these?” The plush Batgirl and Robin toys in her hands were old, well-worn and had lived on her desk when she had been Oracle and she kept them in her bedroom now. Dick had always made fun of her about still having them but had always grabbed them himself to cuddle with when he snuck in a nap on her couch. She didn’t know why he thought she would have ever outgrown them and given them away. They were a part of her history, no matter what.

He had given them to her after she had been shot by the Joker, when she was still in the hospital.

“Yes.” Talon took them slowly from her hands and held them in his own. He first looked at the Robin doll, and ran a finger over the R symbol lightly. He then turned his attention to the Batgirl doll, petting its red hair and then squeezing it a little before handing them back. It looked like he remembered them.

“If I put these toys in that window that means that I want Jake to be Family.” She pointed to her bedroom window that looked out onto the balcony farther down.

“Okay.” Talon accepted the proposal. “Even if Override Two does not work, Talon will try not to hurt Jake because Batgirl says he is her family.” He was staring at the window with a longing expression.  “Talon is still sad. About… everything.”

“I don’t know if I can help with that. I’m part of the problem.”

“It is not Batgirl’s fault. It is the way it is.” Talon whispered, “Dick chose this. To keep Family safe. Talon accepts the choice.”

“I’m sorry you had to make that choice.” She only really had one more thing that she could offer. “Can I give you a hug?” It was a risk. No one had had anything much more than casual contact with him since he had become Talon. They had offered and he had turned them all down. Cass had said that it was out of fear of hurting them, even if it was something accidental like too much pressure. She had to make the offer though. He had held her hand. Could she give him more? She had read studies about the benefit of touch in helping with some of the symptoms of depression in certain cases. Dick had always been so tactile. It was something small and it could maybe make him feel a little better to have some human contact at least for a little while.  It definitely couldn’t make it any worse.

Talon hesitated and bit his lip, before he nodded and murmured. “Yes. Please.” Barbara stepped closer to him and wrapped her arms tight around his waist. There was no real reaction, but she held on in hopes that it would help. After about thirty seconds, she was about to pull away when she felt Talon’s arms suddenly rise up and go around her in return, squeeze gently and he started purring, deep in his chest. She could feel him relaxing and the feeling returned from earlier. That feeling that it was Dick here with her, not Talon, despite the purr. This hug was familiar and one that she had known for years and could identify anywhere. She tucked herself in closer to him, face in the side of his neck and she felt his fingers began to trail slowing through her hair. “Miss this.”

“Me too.” She did. More than almost anything. They had been together for so much, good and bad, almost from the beginning since Dick had landed in Gotham. Hugs had always been there between the two of them to comfort. “Do you want to come inside to warm up? You’re freezing.”

“Talon is always cold.” She felt his head shake and he began to pull away. She released him and his arms dropped to his sides like rocks. He still looked off. “No. Talon must… go now.” He looked like he was going to step away, but instead he paused and closed his eyes, looking like he was trying to decide something. Maybe arguing with himself. She stayed still and waited for him to make up his mind. Finally, he reopened his eyes, bent down slowly and kissed her on the forehead softly before backing away quickly. He climbed onto the railing, turning away from her and quietly said, “Be safe, Batgirl. Be happy.”

Talon leapt off the building. Barbara went to the railing and looked over, trying to see where he went but he was gone. She groaned and rested her hands edge when she realized that something felt different against her skin; was rough instead of the usual smooth stone.  She lifted one of her hands and gasped as what she saw underneath.

Scratched into the stone was the outline of a heart.

He couldn’t say the word but here it was, loud and clear.

Barbara had always prided herself in being clear headed in any situation. Better under pressure. Able to separate work from her personal life and not having either one of them affect the other and she had certainly never been one of those girls who fell apart over boyfriend trouble at the drop of a hat. She was wasn’t easily rattled, but this… this was something that she just couldn’t deal with tonight. Not all at once and on her own.

Her plans immediately changed. Her night of sitting in front of the computer and trying to figure out if she had a Penguin problem could be pushed back, but now Barbara needed to go out there and do something. Anything but sit in her home and overanalyze about what had just happened between her and Talon and have any potential ramifications spiral through her brain all night. Barbara went back inside, suited up into her uniform as fast as possible, and headed back down to her bike. She sped quickly out of the garage and weaved her way through the streets faster than she should have considering the wetness of the paved roads beneath her tires. As she drove, she called Dinah.

“Come on. Pick up. Pick up, pick up, pick up.”

“Babs! What do I owe the pleasure?”

“Are you in town?” She hoped more than anything that Black Canary was in Gotham and not on the other side of the country in Star City or anywhere else in between.

“I am. One night only engagement. You have something in mind?”

“Need a hand of the ass kicking variety?”

“Not really, but I’m not one pass up a chance to hang out. I’m at 8th and Broadview. Nothing happening right now but I’m sure the two of us can find something that needs doing.”

“Be right there.” Barbara took a hard right at the next light. Dinah wasn’t far from where she was and within a few minutes Barbara could see her leaning against a lamppost waiting. Barbara parked her bike in nearby alley and met up with her.

Dinah looked her up and down and let out a low whistle. “You look terrible.” This was exactly what Barbara needed. Someone to tell her exactly how it was. No games. No sugar coating.

“It reflects my inner turmoil.” Dinah raised an eyebrow at her but said nothing. “I need to hit things. Hard.”

“Well, this is Gotham. Shouldn’t take us too long to find some trouble. It’s almost closing time. Should be able to find some after hour bar fights to break up at the very least. Prime time for drunk idiots make poor life choices.”

“Perfect.”

They didn’t have to wait long until a mugging appeared right in front of them, with a guy with a gun started threatening a couple girls who were waiting for their Uber to arrive. Batgirl and Black Canary sprang into action, throwing punches, kicking the gun away, tying him up, calling the cops and then waited with the girls for them to arrive.

When they were standing across the street in an alley, watching the police office arrive on the scene, Dinah wrapped her arm around Barbara’s shoulders. “Want to talk about it?” Barbara silently observed the cop loaded the mugger into the back of the cruiser and drove off, presumably to spend the night in the drunk tank. The girls waved at them and then pulled away in their ride. “You doled out a little more damage than usual for one drunk guy with an unloaded gun.” She was right, of course. They really didn’t need to hit the guy at all – he had been one of those people who panicked and immediately surrendered at the sight of a mask. Dinah hadn’t done anything to him, but Barbara had hit him a few times in the face when she really should have just disarmed him. He had a black eye. Or two. And a was maybe missing some teeth that he hadn’t been missing before. Not her proudest moment. She was a little ashamed.

“Not really.” But of course she was going to, even if it was just an abbreviated version of her night. “I’m seeing a new guy and it’s going really well.”

“But?” Barbara shot a look at her. “What? Sorry, but you do not have the face or reactions of someone who’s big problem is ‘my new boyfriend is so gosh darn sweet and I don’t know how to handle it’.”

“It’s going great with him. I just have baggage that I can’t really talk to him about.” Barbara looked up to a building at the end of the alley and had to strain not to roll her eyes. “Lots of it. Atypical baggage.”

Dinah followed her gaze to a fire escape halfway up the building, seeing what she saw. Despite his abrupt departure from the Clocktower earlier, there Talon was, watching her again in silence. She had noticed him following them about ten minutes ago. It really wasn’t helping to clear her mind to have him lurking around. “Ah. Baggage of the former Boy Wonder variety.” She stood up straight and called out to him. “Hey! Skedaddle! Its girl’s night. Be creepy another time.”

Talon did not move.

Dinah walked closer to the foot of the escape ladder and shook it so that it rattled all the way up. “I’ve got this, Talon. I don’t know what’s going on but she just wants to blow off some steam. I’ll keep an eye on her. She’ll be safe.” He remained still. Barbara was about to tell Dinah that it was a lost cause and that it wouldn’t work, when he suddenly nodded back and then turned and climbed the rest of the way over the building and disappeared for the second time that night. Dinah leaned against the wall and waited for Barbara start talking.

“I don’t want to talk about it. There’s not really anything that needs to be said that I don’t already know anyway. I feel guilty about moving on when he can’t. He’s a little distraught.”

“You could probably use a good rant anyway.” Dinah frowned. “Wait. He talked to you? Finally?”

“Yeah. He essentially told me that it’s okay that I’m seeing someone, but he’s upset about it.”

“You guys never dealt with each other seeing other people very well.”

“Yeah.” She started to pace back and forth. Despite not wanting to talk about it, she needed to vent. “It’s just… I’ve been doing so much work with Batman and the others working on the plans to get him away from the Court and we are getting so close. A lot of progress actually, but they are all still months off ready to implement at best. It just feels like I can’t do anything to help him _now_. And he doesn’t treat me like the others. We can’t move on and have a different type of relationship. It’s like he has a one track mind when it comes to me and he can’t express it. Anything that I do now just hurts him.” It’s been something that she’s been holding in for a while. She couldn’t say something like that to the others, but she could say it to Dinah. “It’s hurting us both, handling it the way we are.”

“And the new guy?”

“I really like him. And it’s not like I can just put my life on hold waiting for Dick and ‘what ifs’, because even when we do get Talon out, we don’t know if we can undo what the Court did to him. And Dick wanted me to move on. It’s the last thing he told me. When something this good ends up in my lap, I have to take the chance with it, don’t I?” Dinah nodded. “And I don’t know what I’m supposed to tell him about all this. This may be Gotham and he’s used to things being weird here, but it’s not like I can just say ‘hey, so I have this on and off ex and he’s now an undead assassin with some subliminal triggers, who is a little obsessed with me, but don’t worry because he says he’s going to try super hard not to kill you. And by the way, I’m Batgirl.’” She shook her head, because it was ridiculous. Her entire life was a sci-fi drama. “I can’t do that to him. Jake is sweet. And smart and kind and…”

“Amazing in bed?”

Barbara laughed hard and snorted when she breathed at the wrong time. It felt good to let go after everything that had happened so far that night. “BC, you know a lady never kisses and tells.”

“Good thing we both know that you are no lady. Dish.”

“There is nothing to tell on that front.” She paused for dramatic effect. “Yet.” She winked at Dinah, who cackled in laughter. “Seriously though, no more about my sordid affairs and sad state of being tonight. Let us just accept that it sucks and that there is nothing we can do about it and then move on. Less gossip, more violent expressions of frustration. I need a release.” She couldn’t dwell on it any more. She needed action.

“In more ways than one if you ask me.” Barbara smacked Dinah’s arm, who just laughed more. “Want to find more people to punch?”

“Better than ice cream and a bottle of wine,” agreed Barbara.

“Hell, yeah.”

They spent the next couple of hours patrolling the city together. Not a lot was happening but it was enough to keep Barbara’s mind and body occupied, running from rooftop to rooftop. There were also no more sightings of Talon, which helped, though she couldn’t be sure if he was still hiding close by. She and Dinah got separated when they stopped two people trying to break the money out of an ATM and Dinah had to chase down the one that took off. She returned solo with her hands full with ice cream cones. “This is regular ice cream, not boy problem lamenting ice cream, so we can eat it guilt free. I double checked the ingredients.” She handed Barbara a cone of chocolate chip and kept the strawberry for herself.

“What happened to the guy?” Barbara’s perp was gagged and tied up to the lamp post.

“Tied up at the ice cream store. Apparently he robbed it earlier tonight. Guy working called it in and then gave me the cones as a thank you.” Dinah licked the ice cream. “Superheroing sometimes has its perks.”

They ate their ice cream as they walked back towards where Barbara had parked her bike. “This has been fun, but I think we should call it a night. Thanks for meeting up with me.” She yawned loudly when she saw it still parked in the alley. It had been an exhausting day.

Dinah nodded silently, but when they got to Barbara’s bike, she held onto her arm, stopping her from getting on. “Look, I know you said that you don’t really want to talk about it anymore. That’s fine. But maybe there is someone that you can talk about it with. Not necessarily the boy drama stuff, because that is definitely a me-topic and I’m just a phone call away when you are ready. The other part though. Talk to someone more… batty about it. Someone more in the know.”

“Other part?”

“Aren’t you the brainy one?” Barbara felt confused and it must have shown because Dinah laughed. “Talon spoke to you for the first time in over a year and half. Something must have changed with him.”

Dinah was right and she didn’t even know half of it. Not only had Talon spoken to her, _Dick_ had. Directly, in the first person, which as far as she knew hadn’t happened before. He hugged her. Kissed her. And he tried to figure out if someone that Talon had never met as Dick could fall into Override Two. That was a lot of things in a pretty short conversation.

“I… I was so distracted on the topic of what he said that I was ignoring other things.” Barbara swung her leg of the bike and started it up. “Thanks, Dinah.”

Barbara sped out of the alley and started to head in the opposite direction of the Clocktower. She was dog-tired but there was someone else that she needed to see tonight before she could go home. She was a lot calmer and centered after going out with Dinah but there one person who had been in the same position as her before tonight. The only other person who had the chance to see similar changes if given the chance. If it wasn’t just a one-time thing.

When she arrived, Barbara parked her bike outside the building and ran up the stairs and started pounding on the door until it flew open, with a confused looking Jason on the other side; the one other person who Talon had refused to talk to before tonight.

“Red? Not that I don’t appreciate the visit, but it’s 4:30 in the morning.” He looked like he had just woken up, all rumpled and groggy. “You shouldn’t just show up at my front door all geared up like that. You’ll start rumours with my neighbours if they see me hanging out with Batgirl at odd hours.”

She pushed past him into the apartment and he stumbled out of her way. “We need to talk.”


	7. Twenty Two Months Part 1 (Damian)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Damian knew that he was supposed to call Grayson ‘Talon’. It was practically demanded of him, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. It was not his name, no matter how many times anyone, including Grayson, told him otherwise. He knew that it was immature and childish to be so stubborn about it but he was nearly physically unable to say the word in Grayson’s presence, especially in the beginning.
> 
> Talon. The word sounded dreadful to his ears and was acidic on his tongue.

There had been a time when Damian couldn’t wait to go out on patrol. Every night he had demanded that he take to the streets and the rooftops to follow in the footsteps that he believe were his by birth.  He had requested, no, commanded it from Father and Grayson and from himself. Each day he trained as hard and as much as he could, to achieve his unattainable goals of grandeur, in hopes that one day he would wake up and find that those dreams and aspirations were not so unattainable after all, because he was there. He would be finally ready. It fueled his life and drove him to be the best, as he had always intended, to be. What he believed he was born to be.

He didn’t feel the same now. Not all of the time anyways.

He still believed in the mission and prided himself on his focus and dedication to improve himself and his skills every day. There were just some evenings when he found it difficult to pull on his boots than others. He did, every night without fail, but there was something that was missing. A spark that had, perhaps, not burned out, but had been reduced to a smoulder. It had started to become less of a passion and more of a duty or sense of requirement. He had first noticed this decline not long after Grayson had been taken, but Damian believed that it was not the cause of his decline in enthusiasm; instead it was merely the catalyst of his awareness. Or perhaps it was not. It was impossible to tell which came first. The Robin or the Egg.

Something simply did not feel like it fit like it once had.

He had recently figured out what the issue was, as well as the probable solution, but had not yet decided how to best proceed with his discovery. It wasn’t something that he felt could easy be discussed with the others, but yet, without some input, he did not know how best to sort out the issue. If he was going to follow what he thought was the right path he would need assistance, at least at the beginning.

Tonight he had a lot of time to think about it uninterrupted. He wasn’t certain if that was a good or a bad thing, but it was probably making him more anxious without anything else to focus his attention on. It was uncomfortable to feel this unsure of himself. He missed Grayson. He would have known what to do, or if not, would have helped him to figure it out if asked.

Damian had been patrolling the warehouse district all evening on his own. It was quiet, but that was to be expected. There had been a police raid in some of the buildings the previous night and the usual area suspects were lying low, which was foolish in Damian’s opinion. If he were a villain, he would be working even harder tonight because it would be the perfect chance to do something for that exact reason. What would be the likelihood of heavy police or vigilante presence two nights in a row?

He slowed his patrol to a stop as he took a moment to rest on a roof of one of the abandoned factories. It had been one of those nights where it was harder to suit up, especially knowing that it was going to be slow in his scheduled sector. It was easier when he knew that he would be making a difference. Nights like these felt like they took forever.

Something caught his eye from across the street and Damian grinned. Perfect timing.

Grayson was on the roof of the next warehouse over, inspecting the exterior of the air conditioned vent closely.

Maybe this night would not be a complete loss. Damian aimed and fired his grapple to the adjacent building and landed expertly on the roof. “Good evening, Gray Son.”

Damian knew that he was supposed to call Grayson ‘Talon’. It was practically demanded of him, but he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. It was not his name, no matter how many times anyone, including Grayson, told him otherwise. He knew that it was immature and childish to be so stubborn about it but he was nearly physically unable to say the word in Grayson’s presence, especially in the beginning.

Talon. The word sounded dreadful to his ears and was acidic on his tongue.

Fortunately, he had learned early on that if he left enough space between the syllables in Grayson, ‘Talon’ didn’t seem to mind, unlike when someone slipped up and called him Dick, to which he reacted unfavourably. It was relieving to be able to call him Gray Son because t was close enough to normal even when the rest of the situation was far from it. Sometimes he could use the name to pretend that things were like they always had been between them even if he knew it was a lie. Damian knew it wasn’t healthy to do so, but he didn’t really care.

Grayson’s attention had turned to him momentarily at the greeting, but he quickly returned to his project. He was focused on removing the cover of the grate carefully and he was occupied by diligently removing the screws holding it in place with his claws. It was not uncommon for Grayson to be singularly fixated on a task now, preferring to finish whatever assignment he was doing before speaking with the others, so Damian was not offended at the lack of greeting. He pulled out an energy bar and ate it while he watched him work. Chocolate chip. It had been Grayson’s favourite, and while Damian had used to find them revolting when they patrolled together while Grayson had been Batman, he now found himself eating them more than the vanilla flavoured ones he used to prefer.

Finally, Grayson looked up and nodded in acknowledgement at Damian. He was finishing up releasing the last bolt.

“Can I ask what you are doing?”

“Talon is on a Mission,” grunted Grayson. The final screw came loose and he removed the grate and placed it quietly on the roof. He then unstrapped his wings from his back and hid them in the shadows of the roof; unless someone was looking for them specifically, they would remain unseen. Grayson returned to the vent and poked his head inside.

“Wait.” Talon paused and pulled back out to face Damian, who took a few steps closer. “May I accompany you?”

“Why?”

“We used to work together all the time. You used to love it. Do you remember?”

“Yes.” Talon tilted his head, thinking about his options. “Talon is unsure. Robin is not supposed to come on Missions. Not safe. Not good.”

“Are you killing anyone this evening?” He hated that he had to ask this of Grayson, to the person who had been the one to teach him the real differences between what was right and what was wrong. It was necessary though.

“Killing is not the Mission tonight. The Mission is to watch and then Report back to Grandmaster when the sun rises. Talon is not to interfere with the Targets.” He gripped the edges of the vent tightly and looked down into the vent again. “Talon does not like watching all night.”

That was unsurprising. Drake and Todd were far superior at surveillance work than Grayson, and himself if he were pressed to admit it. Drake had the attention to detail and patience that stakeouts required, and Todd could outlast anyone on watch duty out of pure stubbornness. Grayson was too prone to fidgeting and Damian had a habit of jumping in too quick. “I could watch with you.” Talon started to shake his head in disagreement but Damian rushed on, not wanting to be dismissed so quickly. “You must get bored on stakeouts. You always did. I could make sure you stay focused and on task.”

“Talon can stay focused without Robin. Talon does not need help. He is good at watching.” Talon growled at him, low and rough, but Damian just rolled his eyes under his mask. By now he had learned what some of Talon’s more animalistic behaviours meant. Yes, there was a growl that was to be concerned about, a clear warning to back off, but that one was louder and sharper and usually was accompanied by a show of claws or blades. This sound was just one of irritation. He didn’t like the implication behind Damian’s words that he was not good at something. “But…” Damian held back a grin. He had known that Grayson would not turn him down on the request if his Mission was merely reconnaissance. “Robin can watch if he wants as well. He can make his own decisions. Talon will not stop him. If he follows, he must remain quiet.”

Grayson spun around once more and quickly climbed into the vent head first and disappeared from view. He hadn’t said no and he had heavily implied that he would like Damian to join him. Satisfied, Damian pulled up his hood and followed Grayson into the vent.

He was suddenly very glad that he had suited up that night.

The first part of the climb down the vent was the trickiest, especially while trying to be quiet when it was a steep and sharp descent into the building. Damian had to press his arms and legs tightly against the sides to prevent falling or slipping too quickly, which would be noisy and give them away to any potential targets present. It was easier once they flattened out over the ceiling of the main floor but still an uncomfortable shamble due to the tightness of the space. They shuffled forward on their arms silently until Grayson raised his hand in a fist. Damian stopped immediately, having learned the sign originally when Grayson had been Batman. It was the sign to wait and hold. Grayson crawled out further into the vent and somehow managed to turn himself around so that he and Damian were head to head and both able to look through an air grate that was now between them. The warehouse below them was empty, both of people and of any items of interest. It was one of the spaces that had been raided the night before.

They waited in stillness.

It felt strange to be in such close quarters with Grayson with so little conversation flowing between them even when the fact that they were on a stake out was considered. When they had been Batman and Robin, and then afterwards, Grayson had always been the talkative one, where Damian was more introspective. Idle chatting was a skill that had not been cultivated fully when he was with the League which had not bothered him at the time. Why learn how to have a regular conversation when you were born and bred and trained to be better than everyone else? He regretted that now. He had learned to how to better deal with people when he was with Richard. He still wasn’t flawless at it (because truly, who was?), but he knew he was much better than he was five years ago. The thing he did continue to struggle most with was the beginning of a conversation. He was passable when he was the one being talked too, whether he was interested in the topic or not, but starting a conversation, especially without sounding confrontational or abrasive even when it wasn’t his intent was a different beast that he had not yet tamed.

This was his chance to practice with someone who wouldn’t judge him for it, and at the same time, give him the chance to talk through the thing that had been recently troubling him. He knew that it wouldn’t be the same as talking to his Grayson had been, like talking to _Richard_ , but it was as close as he could get.

Damian cleared his throat and immediately had Grayson’s attention. “I have been thinking about something and I could use some advice from an impartial party.” Grayson raised his eyebrows, encouraging him to continue. Damian considered how to best phrase his quandary. “I have been having motivation issues recently with this type of work. I’ve been looking into what could be the problem. I originally thought that I was suffering from burn out or possibly even depression, but I now don’t think that this is the case. I think that the issue is that I need to make a change in how I do things. A very specific type of change.” He hesitated, now worried that the time was here, to finally voice what he had been thinking about actively for months and passively for much longer. He licked his lips nervously. It felt weird to feel this way in front of Grayson. “I am thinking about moving on from being Robin. I do not wish to quit the vigilante life, but I think that I would like to move on to being something else until it is time for me to step into the role of Batman. What would you think about that?”

Grayson dropped his eyes through the slates again and examined the room. Satisfied that they were still alone, he turned back to Damian, and whispered, “Always Robin.”

He wasn’t sure what he had expected Grayson to say, but it certainly was not that. He would have been prepared for him to just agree with Damian, not answer, or have trouble understanding the hypothetical scenario, but to outright deny him? That was outrageous. Damian heard himself click with his tongue, which irritated him further. He had trained himself out of the tell over the past year after Drake had pointed out that it was an obvious shared tic between Robin and Damian Wayne that could give away his identity accidentally; now here it was again, rearing its head the moment he got frustrated with an answer that he didn’t like. “How can you say that you think I have to stay Robin? You were fine with Drake becoming Nightwing and that was your name, not something you should have just given away to him.” He took a deep breath and tried to steady himself, but he was finding it difficult to do with Grayson watching him. He had been angry when he had first learned that Drake would be taking over the mantle of Nightwing, but he had been able to move on from it over time. “Robin was yours too. And Batman is Father’s,” he whispered, “I need something of my own, if only for a short while. If not now, then when?”

It had been hanging over his head for some time. When he had been with the League, he was being groomed by his mother and grandfather for a specific role and purpose, determined since before his birth. Then he had come to Gotham and had taken the role of Robin. And he still expected that when the time came, that he would step into the role of Batman. All of these things served their purpose but it also meant that for not once in his relatively short life, had he even had something that was truly his own. Something that he could create and a direction that he would be the one to choose.

The fact the Grayson had been dismissive, even in his current form, was like a stab to the chest.

“No.” Grayson was shaking his head emphatically, clearly disagreeing, but Damian wasn’t sure which part he was disagreeing with. “Talon means…” He stared down through the grate again, and there was silence for a few minutes. Damian began to wonder if he had lost track of the conversation, had forgotten that they were having a disagreement after being sidetracked by something else. It would not have been the first time. Maybe it would be easier if that were the case. Damian had got his answer even if he didn’t like it. He should just forget about it and leave it alone. Instead, Grayson lifted his head again and studied Damian’s face carefully. He then reached out to touch Damian’s glove and shook it lightly. “Once Robin. Always Robin. Red Hood is Robin. Nightwing is Robin. Robin is Robin even if he has a new name.” Grayson’s voice dropped. “Talon is Robin.”

“Yes, you were.”

“No. Talon is. Always Robin. Always a part of you.” Talon sounded angry but Damian didn’t think it was really about him. Talon was annoyed with himself. “Even when a talon. It is still in here,” He points to his head and then more softly added, “and here.” and touched his chest.

It was an interesting thought, and one that he had definitely heard his brothers discuss before but had not really considered how it applied to him until this moment. He thought back to the We Are Robin movement that had happened in Gotham when Father had amnesia. He hadn’t understood it then, not really, but he was beginning to understand it now. Being Robin wasn’t a permanent state of being, but it didn’t mean that you left it behind forever when you moved on.

Once Robin, always Robin.

It would still be part of him even if he were to establish a new persona.

“So you would not be upset if I chose to be something else? If there is no more Robin in Gotham?  I do not believe Father will take another.”

“Perhaps not gone forever,” said Grayson cryptically and Damian had a flashback of when they had first started working together. He had an argument with Grayson about something stupid and Damian had made an outrageous claim about something that he hadn’t felt could possibly happen. Grayson’s response had been to raise an eyebrow and suggest that Damian couldn’t know the future. That felt a lot like this. “One day, when Robin is Batman, perhaps another Robin will fly.” That was a surprising thought. Would he do as his father had done and train protégés? It wasn’t something that he had thought about in regards to his future and how he would operate as Batman. When he was younger he probably would have dismissed such ideas, claiming that partners and allies would be unnecessary, however, now Damian knew how valuable they would be. Grayson continued. “Even if not, that is fine. Robin is growing up. Growing out of Robin. Dick grew out of Robin too. Talon is not upset.”

“I’m 15. I’m hardly grown up.” It was odd to hear those words from his own voice. He could remember insisting that he was an adult, not to be treated as a child when he was ten years old and new to life outside the League. Thinking back on that now, it sounded absurd. No wonder people had issues with him. He hated to admit that people were right. He had been a brat and sometimes still was.

“More grown up than before. Dick…” Grayson paused. It looked like he was listening to something, but Damian couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. The room below was still deserted but he guessed that Grayson could hear movement beyond the doors. Grayson nodded and then smiled at Damian. It was a good smile, not the grimace that Talon usually wore that sometimes passed as a smile. It reminded him of Richard’s smile. The one that he had after a solid night of work together or sharing pancakes over breakfast or playing Cheese Viking with him. “Dick is happy. I am happy. Proud.”

“Gray Son? Grayson? What are you saying?”

“The voice. Dick. Talon. Both happy. Proud of Robin. Robin is good.”

“Grayson? You hear Grayson?” It was something that he had heard Cain and Gordon say before, that Dick wasn’t completely gone, that they had seen him. Drake had also mentioned that he thought that there was more Grayson in there than they had originally thought. Father did not seem to share this opinion, but Damian wondered if it was something that he also believed but was keeping to himself, in an attempt to separate Richard from Talon in case any rescue attempts failed. He was trying to think of them as different people.

Damian hadn’t let him think in such a way. Calling him Gray Son was one thing. This type of pointless hope was something else. He wouldn’t be able to bare being wrong and abandoned all over again. Unless maybe it was not pointless after all.

“Yes.” Damian gritted his teeth at Grayson’s words, not knowing how else to react. “He talks to Talon. He is Talon. He is much louder than he was when Talon first woke up. More… pushy.” Talon suddenly became much more alert, sliced his hand across the air quick and glared through the grate intently. “Be quiet now. Targets are approaching. Talon must watch. It is the Mission.”

The door in the room below opened and seven men entered the room, pushing in a dolly with a few crates stacked on them. They pushed the crates against the wall and then proceeded to have what looked like a heated argument between them. Damian was unable to make out what they were saying from where they were, but based on the amount of attention that Grayson was giving them, he appeared to hear every word.

Three of the men started to leave the room and now their voices were raised enough for Damian to hear. As was typical, they were arguing over payment fees for delivering whatever was in the crates. Damian shifted slightly as their voices got louder, trying to get more comfortable while staying as discreet as possible, hoping that he was still quiet enough for them to not hear him in the vent. Grayson’s eyes moved from the group to glare at Damian and his twitching, which made him stop moving immediately. He tried to ignore the cramping feeling in his shoulders. It seemed like every day tight spaces like these were becoming smaller and more cumbersome for him to squeeze into. He was finally beginning to grow into himself and starting to gain the height that his genetic lineage had promised was bound to happen, finally having grown past Drake and was only a touch shorter than Grayson, maybe even matching Grayson now if they were to actually measure. Regardless of whether he stayed Robin or not, his days of spying on people from standard sized air vents were numbered.

The men paid no attention to the vent, and Grayson returning to watching them, apparently no longer concerned with the sound that Damian had made.

The confrontation below them had escalated, and one of the men had drawn a gun and the others had pulled out more basic weaponry themselves in retaliation. Things were turning ugly. Grayson shook his head a fractional amount. He did not look pleased with the way things were going, but also did not look like his plans for the Mission were changing.

Until the vent groaned loudly.

All the men on the ground stopped bickering amongst themselves and looked up in their direction. Grayson and Damian stared at each other with huge, wide eyes, both obviously thinking what they didn’t have time to say out loud.

_Shit_.

The vent gave a shudder and then collapsed beneath them, and they landed on the floor of the warehouse with a large bang, sides collapsing around them.

Coughing to try and get the air back into his lungs, Damian looked up and saw all seven men staring down at them with shocked expressions on their faces. He and Grayson both leapt to their feet and the men advanced on them quickly, weapons raised, and ready to attack.

As required, Robin kicked into high gear. He was the focus of two of the men, and was successfully deflecting their blows. They were fairly well trained in hand to hand combat, indicating that they were not just generic hired thugs. Between the two of them, they should not have any issues shutting this situation down. He managed to disarm the man with the gun, kicking it out of the way and under the pallet that the crates were on, and then slid under the other man to put himself in a more favourable position. He then grabbed both men by the neck and knocked their heads together with the precision of someone who had been training for years, such as he had. They both crumpled to the ground unconscious. The move had been textbook, and it made Damian grin to see it work just as he had intended. He then turned to see how Grayson was faring with the five remaining men.

Things were not going well in the other skirmish.

Grayson was not engaging in battle. He was avoiding being struck which was impressive as he was the target of the other five men, but he was not defending himself nor was he going on the attack against them either. He was simply dodging everything and it was making his adversaries more agitated. It wasn’t making any sense to Damian. Talons were practically made to be a fighting, if not killing machines. Why would Grayson not be active in the situation? It was as soon as that thought crossed his mind that Damian remembered what Grayson had said to him earlier, up on the roof before they had descended into the vent.

His Mission was to Watch. His Orders were to not engage with the targets.

A talon could not go against Orders of their Grandmaster.

Damian was essentially on his own and greatly outnumbered. He could absolutely have handled men of this caliber on his own if they were without weapons, but there were too many variables with them involved, and they were quickly beginning to notice that Grayson wasn’t fighting back at were getting much more aggressive in their attacks. The wolves were beginning to circle and Damian only had one choice. He had to do what he had been trained to do.

Robin had to protect his Batman.

Using the same sliding move as before, Damian disappeared under one of the men, but this time it was to move into the fray of things, and popped up in front of them, side stepped so that he took his defensive fighting stance in front of Grayson and set to work to try and break up the pack and get them both out of there.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Grayson finally start to move. He was not necessarily fighting the men, but he was keeping them away off of Damian’s back, which was a relief.

Damian was holding up fairly well until he saw the pipe coming towards him a fraction too late and then he heard the cracking sound as he felt the pain radiating through his skull. Before he was aware that it was happening, Damian fell to his knees on the hard floor, sounds of the skirmish continuing all around him. Was he still being hit? He was unsure. There was a scream. Where had it come from? Someone was in trouble.

Then he realized was horizontal. When had that happened?

Things were growing hazy, and he was unable to keep his eyes from closing. He felt a hand on his shoulder shaking him, but he couldn’t answer and he felt himself drifting off, with only some final panicked words accompanying him into unconsciousness. They were important, the words, but he couldn’t stay awake to figure out why.

“Damian! No. Wake up. Please.”


	8. Twenty Two Months Part 2 (Jason)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jason hadn’t had a night off in weeks and was enjoying his quiet night in so far and was curled up on his couch, complete with a mug of hot chocolate and a new mystery novel that he was quite enjoying. He was halfway in and he still had no idea who the killer was; it was rare that a book had him stumped like that and he loved it. He was comfy and not interested in moving and a call from the kid meant that he was going to have to leave the sanctity of his apartment. Probably have to take off his sweatpants, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed to 13 chapters, but it is 100% with me not being able to count and nothing to do with change in plot, story, etc. I had two Chapter 11's in my outline and didn't notice that I had mislabeled. 
> 
> One day, I will stop being mean to Talon. This is not that day.

“Robin, this better be an emergency. It’s my first night off in forever so unless people are breaking out of both Arkham and Blackgate, and there is an alien invasion happening simultaneously, you shouldn’t be calling me. Black Bat is the one on call for back up tonight.” Jason hadn’t had a night off in weeks and was enjoying his quiet night in so far and was curled up on his couch, complete with a mug of hot chocolate and a new mystery novel that he was quite enjoying. He was halfway in and he still had no idea who the killer was; it was rare that a book had him stumped like that and he loved it. He was comfy and not interested in moving and a call from the kid meant that he was going to have to leave the sanctity of his apartment. Probably have to take off his sweatpants, too.

“Help.” That was definitely not Robin on the other end of the line, but the voice was just as familiar to him.

“Talon?” He wasn’t sure why he phrased it like a question because it was undeniably him. It was more out of shock than anything. Jason knew the voice because even though the voice was a little bit rougher and deeper, he still mostly sounded like Dick. He hadn’t heard it first-hand though because Talon actively avoided him like the plague. He hadn’t needed anyone to tell him that he still had some of Dick’s memories either; it was obvious that Talon didn’t want to get too close to him in because Jason had promised that he would kill him if necessary. He didn’t think that Talon was completely understanding what was considered ‘necessary’ so he just disappeared to avoid the issue and potentially being killed by Jason.

There was shuffling in the background of the call on Talon’s end and a whimper. “Robin needs help. Red Hood must come.” Well, shit. Jason tossed his book on the coffee table and got up to go to where his gear was stashed in his closet. There goes his evening off.

“Why are you on Robin’s phone? I didn’t even think you knew how to use a phone.”

“Red Hood must come now.”

“Alright, alright. Where are you?”

“Clocktower. Roof.”

“BG not home to help with an assist?” No response. Jason couldn’t tell if Talon was even still on the line.  “Alright, hold tight. I’m on my way,” he said anyway and then disconnected. He suited up as fast as he could and took off on his bike headed towards the Clocktower, calling Barbara on his way through his helmet communicator.  
  
He didn’t wait for a greeting and started talking as soon as it connected. “Red, you home?”

“Hi, Hood. Nice to hear from you. Why yes, I am doing well. How are you, old friend?” He could hear the smile in her voice, but he didn’t have time for idle banter. He needed her previous persona’s expertise right now.

He spat out his response between gritted teeth. “Are. You. Home.”

“Yes. What can I do for you?” The change in tone and demeanor was immediate. Gone was Barbara Gordon or Batgirl and in their place was Oracle. It felt familiar to have this version of her in his ear again.  This was exactly who he needed.

“I just got a call from our favourite monosyllabic bird telling me that he needs me on your roof because Robin needs help,” said Jason quickly. “Can you check your cameras to see if Talon’s up there?”

“Give me a sec… Yes. I see him pacing up there and… oh. Robin is laying on the roof beside him.” Jason could hear some movement on her end; a chair pushing back, shoes scuffing on the hardwood. “I’ll head up and meet you there.”

“No. Do not engage,” he shot out instantly and she sighed at him, but the background sounds on her end stopped. “Please, BG.” It wasn’t often that he asked her to back off something because he was certain that she was more than capable that handling anything that he could handle on her own, but something about this seemed fishy and he didn’t like it. “If he called me to come instead of getting you when you are only about twenty feet below him…” Thoughts were racing around in his head and he didn’t like the rabbit hole that they were trying to lead him down. “Whatever he wants, it isn’t going to be good.”

There was a silence on her end as he continued to drive closer. All his traffic lights were mysteriously green. He didn’t think that it was coincidental. “Fine. Hurry up though. He’s…” There was a pause while he presumed that she was watching the footage of what was happening on her rooftop, “Well, he looks like he’s having a panic attack, honestly. He’s dropped down into a ball and is rocking back and forth.”

That wasn’t good. “How’s Robin?”

“I don’t know. He’s down.” Keyboard strikes were clear through the earpiece. “His bio readings from his suit aren’t great, but I’ve seen worse. He’s alive, anyways.”

“Alright. I’m here.” Jason drove through the hidden entrance that led into the underground parking garage, stopping near the entrance doors.

“The door is unlocked and the elevator’s prepped to take you directly up to the roof. It’s a long way to climb otherwise.” Jason opened the door and rushed into the open elevator. “You know this already, but I’m going to keep watch from in here anyway. Just in case. Give me a signal if you need me to intervene.”

He was glad that she brought it up before he had to. The elevator started going up quickly “I think I might need you to keep those camera’s recording too.”

“You don’t think that he…” Barbara trailed off and dead air filled the line. She was the only one that he had told about the agreement that he and Dick had made, though he knew that Bruce and Tim suspected as much. Talon calling Jason instead of getting Barbara’s attention downstairs was not a good sign.

“Just a hunch, BG, but I don’t know why he would ask me to come if not. Hood out.” Jason hung up and tried to prepare himself for what he was about to find.

When the elevator doors opened, Jason hurried out onto the roof and he immediately saw Robin lying on his back, with Talon huddled a few feet away from him, arms wrapped around his knees. Upon seeing Jason, Talon stood up fast. “What happened?” Jason demanded. Talon said nothing, but made a high pitched whine as Jason approached and stepped out of reach, rocking back and forth on his heels. Jason decided to ignore him for a moment and crouched down to look over Damian. He was unconscious, but he was breathing and his pulse were fine. When he ran his hands over his head, Jason could feel a huge lump on the side of it and there was some dried blood in his hair. Damian moaned a bit in his sleep as Jason touched the bump. It wasn’t good, but it wasn’t exactly life threatening, especially when you were talking about a kid who had died and had a bomb in his head before. Jason flipped the lenses down on Damian’s mask and saw the way that they dilated with the light that he shone into them. That was good. He scanned him with the biometrics reader in his helmet and saw that there was a hairline skull fracture under the wound and while all of the rest of Robin’s reading weren’t great, they were alright all things considered, and nothing else appeared to be wrong with him other than him being out cold. Jason took off his jacket and put it under Damian’s head gently, and pulled his Robin cape around him tighter, trying to seal in the warmth. He straightened back up, gave Barbara a thumbs up through the camera to let her know that he had things under control and then activated his comm in his helmet. “Hood to Cave. Robin has been injured on patrol. Unconscious but stable. I will bring him in soon, but I have something else that needs to be taken care of first. He is safe and secure at the Clocktower. Do not send reinforcements.” Jason glanced at Talon, who was still standing a few feet back, watching Robin’s body like a hawk. “I have a skittery friend with me.” He switched off after he heard Alfred’s confirmation back. 

Now he had to find out what had happened. His new mystery for the night. He stood up and turned to Talon, who looked like he wanted to run away but was forcing himself to stay put. There was blood on his uniform, but it had to be more than just Damian’s because the amount on Talon didn’t match the how much had come from Damian’s head wound. He was absolutely _covered_ in blood. This was someone else’s blood. Probably more than one somebody. Multiple somebodies that were definitely dead now.

“Red Hood.” Talon was still staring at Damian, watching his chest rise up as he breathed slowly. “You made a promise.” His hands were trembling and he had a terrified look on his face. “To m… To Dick.”

“What are you talking about?” he asked carefully. Talon was like a wild horse; easily spooked and he didn’t want him to make a run for it. Jason really wasn’t in the mood to have to chase him down just to find out what was going on.

“Talon hurt Family. He went against Override Two.” Talon sucked in a deep breath and then let it out slowly and lifted his head to meet Jason’s eyes. “Talon needs to be decommissioned. For hurting Robin.”

Well, balls. Jason had hoped that this wasn’t the case, but he had suspected that it might be on his ride over. “Robin is okay, Talon.” He stepped closer to Talon and he couldn’t help but notice the flinch. Talon hadn’t even tried to hide it. Jason spread out his hands at his sides, trying to show that he was unarmed. “He looks like he has a hell of a bump on the head and he’s knocked out, but he’s just sleeping. When he wakes up, we’ll be able to tell for sure, but I’m pretty sure that he’ll be alright. The kid has had much worse.”

“Talon cannot hurt Family. Robin is Family. Robin is hurt because of Talon,” he whispered, shaking his head. “Red Hood. Please.”

“He’s safe, Talon. He’s fine.”

“Jason!” Talon shoved something into Jason’s hand and dropped to his knees in front of him. “Please. I… you need to… Talon cannot go against Override Two.”

Since Dick had gone with the Court, ever since he had asked Jason to be his contingency plan, Jason had thought out about what he would possibly need to do in case Talon went after the family. He had tried to think of ways that he could do it, methods that he would have to take and he planned for the worst case scenario. His plan wasn’t pretty, but he couldn’t figure out another way. Talons of the Court of Owls were pretty much invincible and impervious to most pain, and Jason couldn’t be sure of ways that he could do it until he tried, but his ongoing thoughts were fire and dismemberment because he didn’t _think_ that Talon could regrow limbs. He had imagined that it would take a long hunt, a chase through the city, and then a drawn out fight to find and take down Talon. A fight that he knew that he very well might lose.

Not once did he ever consider the possibility that Talon would just call him up and wait for him to complete the job.

Wait. Did he say… He had, hadn’t he?

Listening to Talon beg had almost made Jason miss the use of his name.

Jason looked down to his hand and saw that Talon had shoved one of his blades in his glove. He shifted his gaze down at Talon’s position in front of him and fully realised what he was doing; he was surrendering himself to Jason to be executed. Thinking that this could be what he was called her for was one thing but seeing it happening in front of him was a thousand times worse. Everything about this was wrong. “What the fuck, Dickie?” He tightened his grip on the knife reflexively. “Is that you in there? Was Red right?” There was a low warning growl, but Jason really didn’t have the patience for this. He needed to know what the hell was going on and why Talon was trying to get him to kill him after nearly two years of avoiding him completely. “Fine. Talon. I need to know what happened. Give me a report. Tell me what happened to Robin.”

The word ‘report’ seemed to trigger something in Talon because his head lifted, he sat up straighter and started speaking in an even more robotic tone than normal, though he kept an eye on the knife in Jason’s hand. “Mission Report. Talon was watching the Targets to gather information for the Court for a possible future Mission. Robin requested that he watch with Talon. Talon did not object. When Talon and Robin were watching the Targets from above, the air vent that they were in gave way and they crashed to the ground among the Targets.” There was a pause while Talon’s attention drifted back to Robin, who was still lying on the ground, but they could hear soft snores coming out of his mouth. He seemed to have transitioned from being unconscious to simply being asleep. “There was a fight.” Talon’s voice dropped lower and Jason had to strain to hear him. “Talon’s Orders were to watch only. He could not engage with the Targets. Robin jumped in front of Talon and got hit in the head with a pipe. Robin was hurt. He went to sleep.” He tilted his head to the right, opening up to give Jason full access to his jugular. His voice was louder again, though a little shakier now, but he stayed in the spot, seemingly waiting for Jason to dole out his retribution. “Talon neutralized the Targets and then brought Robin here. Called Red Hood.”

“Are they all dead?” There was a lot to unpack in that explanation and while Jason knew it was the truth, he was probably missing a lot of details. Tim had mentioned that there was a lot of lying by omission happening with Talon.

“The Targets were neutralized.”

“Whatever. Not the issue.” He noted the Talon wasn’t using the M or the K words. He was censoring himself. “Did they at least deserve it?”

“They were enemies of the Court.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“The Targets were murderers. They will not murder again.” Past tense meant that they were definitively dead. Good to know.

Jason nodded in understanding. Sounded like Gotham was better off without them. “Good enough for me.” He looked down at the knife in his hand and flipped it to hold it by the blade. He held out the handle to Talon. “Talon, I will not decommission you.”

Talon warily eyed the knife in his hand, but did not reach out to take it. “But Red Hood made…”

“You’re right. I did promise Dick that I would look after things like that if it was needed. But you didn’t hurt Robin, Talon. Those men you ‘neutralized’ are the ones who hurt Damian. You did the right thing. You protected him and brought him here. And he’ll be okay.”

“But Robin is hurt. Family cannot be hurt. Over…”

It was like talking to a robot or a poorly written AI and Talon just kept looping the conversation. Jason wasn’t sure if it was because he was upset or because he was simply repeating his commands, but he sighed in frustration. He holstered the knife that Talon had gave him. He was obviously not going to take it back right now. “Yeah, yeah, Override Two. Got it. But you didn’t hurt him. He was just in in the wrong place at the wrong time and it sounds like he was trying to stop you from getting hurt.”

“Talon cannot get hurt that way. The Court made it so.”

“That may be, but we can try to protect our family too. It is a two way street, Dick.” Talon tensed up at the use of the name Dick, but Jason ignored him, because this was getting ridiculous trying to keep it straight. “You are our Family, just as much as we are yours. We are trying to keep you safe too. He was just trying to keep you safe from your targets when shit hit the fan.”

“I…” Talon’s voice was trembling. “He was trying to help me?” He sounded younger somehow, like a confused child. “Trying to help Talon?”

“Yes. He knows that you can’t be hurt anymore, but it was probably instinctual. He just wanted his brother to be okay. We all want you to be okay.”

“I’m… not.”

“Yeah. I can see that.” He crouched down in front Talon to look at him on eye level. “What do you need to be okay?” He was really out of his realm of expertise here. He really needed someone else to deal with this breakdown. He needed… Dick. Dick was the one who was the best of them at this type of thing. Well, that wasn’t going to happen, so Jason was going to need to step up and fix things as best as he could.

“Talon needs… I… I need… Home. I need to come home. Jason. Please.” Talon looked down at his blood covered hands and watched them shake for a moment. “I can’t keep doing this.”

Dick. He really was in there and he was beginning to crack. Jason knew a little bit about being out of options looked like.

“Come over here. Sit down with me.” Jason backed up and sat against the elevator doors, unlatched his helmet and felt the cool breeze hit his head and he reflexively took a few deep breaths with his face’s freshly found freedom. He needed to be Jason for this, not the Red Hood. Talon stood and stared at him awkwardly. “I’m not going to hurt you, Talon. I promise.” Talon waited a little longer, and then sank down beside him with a few inches between them, and rested his head backwards, keeping his eyes closed. “Is Dick really gone?”

“Yes?”

“Is that a question?”

Talon’s jaw clenched, grinding his teeth as he sorted out his thoughts. “It… Talon… I… cannot explain.” Talon fumbled with his words and looked annoyed. “Gone. Not Gone. Talon. Dick. We are… same? But not. It is becoming… easier… to work… together,” he sighed deeply, “We do not know.” Talon raised a hand up to his head and ran his hand through his hair, stopping his fingers at the back of his skull. “Dick is… here. Somewhere.”

So, if Dick was in there, even just a little bit, Jason was going to talk to him, no matter how grumpy it made Talon. “You’ve been avoiding me. Almost two years, Dick.” He reached out at put his hand on Dick’s shoulder. He balked under the touch momentarily, but his eyes remained closed and he quickly settled.

“Didn’t want… to get close.”

“Fuck you.”

“No. Talo… Di… we were trying… to make… it easier. In case...” He rolled his head to the side towards Jason and opened his eyes. “In case… you needed to… kill me.” He was watching Jason closely, trying to gauge his reactions in his body language. “Red Hood needed to only see Talon as Talon.”

“You thought I’d be compromised if I saw you as Dick, even just a little bit. That I wouldn’t be able to kill you if I needed to. If you went on a bat themed murder spree or something.”

“Yes.”

“It’s like you don’t know me at all. Maybe you never did.” Jason muttered, more to himself. He cleared his throat. “Despite popular opinion, I don’t like killing but I think that it’s something that needs to be done sometimes to eliminate a threat permanently. It’s for the greater good even if no one else agrees with me. You asked me to kill you if you were going to hurt the family. And I would, no matter who was behind the wheel driving your body. I would take out the threat that is Talon without hesitation to protect this family for Dick or vice versa. This,” Jason pointed at Robin, who had rolled onto his side and pulled his cape over his face, “is not what I would qualify as hurting our family. This was an accident. If anything, you saved him.”

Jason pulled out the knife again and held it in his hands. Talon became uneasy again at the sight of it and tried to inch away from him. Jason shook his head, and placed it on the ground between them. “Furthermore, I can’t believe you thought that you could just show up and hand me a one of your own damn knives to kill you with. Those things are sharp but you are damn near indestructible. One simple blade wouldn’t be able to do it. I have bigger plans that that if needed. Take it back.”

“That one… yes. I stole… some of the liquid that the Court has to… kill talons. That blade is coated. It will… kill Talon.” Bruce had said that the Court had a formula that could end a talon’s life if necessary, but until now Jason had thought that it was made up – a scary story to keep the scary stories in line. Obviously that was wrong or this was a very convincing placebo. “Jason. Keep it. In case.” He pushed the handle back towards Jason, avoiding touching the blade even with his gloved hands. “In the case that one day Talon does try to hurt Family and needs to be stopped.”

The blade was short and sharp and the handle was made out of a simple carved wood. It seemed so innocuous for something that was so potentially deadly. Jason had more lethal looking knives in his kitchen block, but this one had Dick spooked. He had to hold on to it.

“Fine.” Jason grabbed the knife and put it away safely. He nodded towards Robin. “I need to get him back to the Cave for Penny-One to look him over. He can’t sleep on this roof all night and if I wait too much longer someone else is going to show up and stick their noses in this even though I told them to stay away.”

“Please… tell Batman that Talon is sorry. He did not mean for Robin to get… hurt.” He was still struggling when trying to differentiate Robin being hurt by him, because of him or being hurt in front of him, but things were better that they were earlier. “Family was meant to stay safe. Talon knew that he should have sent Robin home. Selfish. I… need to be better… at keeping all Robin’s safe. Keep failing.”

It was something that Dick had always struggled with. He had a habit of wanting to keep everyone safe and sound, even to his own detriment. In fact, this is how they had ended up in this whole Talon situation to begin with. Between Jason and Damian dying, and Tim being kidnapped by his future alternate timeline self and thought to be dead, Dick was carrying around a lot of misdirected guilt. Jason knew that Dick felt guilty about his death and he wasn’t even on the planet at the time, but he shouldered the blame nonetheless.

“I know, buddy, but it is not your fault when we get hurt. It never has been.”

“Feels like it.” Talon shrugged, and Jason squeezed his shoulder again to try and make him feel if even if he didn’t believe it. Talon leaned into the touch, but was shaking slightly beneath his grip. “Red Hood. Tonight. Those men. I… Tal… no… we… killed them. To keep Robin safe. When he fell… I… panicked… said his other name. Not Robin. The men heard.” He shuddered under Jason’s hand and dropped his head down. “Killed them to keep Robin’s name secret. Safe.”  

Jason’s breath caught in his throat. He wrapped his arm around Talon, pulling him into a close half hug. Talon let it happen without protest and curled into him. “You said they were murderers.” Talon nodded against Jason. “Did they kill innocent people? Kids?” Talon nodded again. “Then they were still shitheads who deserved it. You kept both Robin and Damian safe. That is all the matters to me.” He peeked a look at Talon, who had started to purr softly. He looked so small tucked against him like that. He wanted to do anything to keep him from going back to the Court. It was destroying him piece by piece. “I’m sorry you had to do that.”

Talon took in a few calming breaths and started to try and pull away. “Talon is fine. Go. Take Robin home.”

“Come with me.” He knew that it wasn’t going to happen, but it was worth a shot.

Talon shook his head as soon as the words were out of Jason’s mouth. “Talon cannot go home with Red Hood.”

“Are you sure?”

“Talon cannot go home with Red Hood. There is… something… that stops him.”

“Alright.” The repeating had started again, meaning that it was an unsolvable issue right now. “Are you going to be alright? When you go back?”

“The Grandmaster is going to be displeased. Talon was not supposed to kill the Targets. Watch only.”

“Sometimes plans go to hell.”

“Yes.” Jason unwrapped himself from Talon, put his helmet back on and then stood and strode over to Robin, picking him up in his arms, holding him tight as Robin’s head rested on his shoulder. The kid was starting to get way too big for this to be easy. How on earth did Talon get him to the roof of the Watchtower? “Do you want to come down the elevator with us? Maybe see Babs? She’s been keeping an eye on us.” Talon rose and pushed the button for the elevator to come back to the roof.

“No. Talon will stay up here longer. Sit and watch the city. Think.” He reached out slowly and touched the top of Robin’s head, running his fingers through his hair soothingly. “Thank you, Red Hood.” The elevator doors opened and Talon stepped back, letting them go home. “For seeing it fit to not decommission us.” Jason nodded, and gave Talon a small wave as the doors closed.

 

* * *

 

Jason pulled into the cave faster than he should have and skidded his tires as he slammed on the brakes. Bruce came over from the computer to meet them and Jason could see Alfred prepping the medical supplies for their new arrival.

“Is Damian…?” Jason held onto him carefully as he got them off the bike. Bruce held out his arms to take his son from him, but Jason just shook his head. He carried his youngest brother over to the medbay, placed him carefully on the bed and stepped out of the way for Alfred to begin his assessment.

“He’s fine. Concussion, probably, and a small linear cranium fracture but he’s alright. Woke up on the ride back here, but went back to sleep pretty quickly. He knew his name and the date and was annoyed when I tried to get him to sing me the alphabet song.” Nodding his head towards the computer, Jason walked away to give Alfred some space to work. Bruce and Alfred exchanged some words, and then Bruce followed Jason, standing next to him in front of the screens. Information that they had found out about the Court and the Parliament of Owls filled the displays and it was only a small percent of what they had.

“You said Talon was there?”

“He didn’t do this,” said Jason, answering the unspoken question. “They were attacked in a warehouse, Damian got knocked out, Talon saved him and then he called me to come pick him up.” He couldn’t tell Bruce everything. Not that it had been a Mission or that Talon killed the men that had done it. It was important, sure, but not important enough to be worth the argument about it. Neither were relevant to the situation itself. He certainly wasn’t going to tell him that Talon had called him there to execute him. He’d never let him get close to him again. “Bruce, we have to get Talon out of the Court’s control. ASAP. He’s in there. Dick is in there.”

Bruce let a short huff of breath out through his nose. “We’ve been over this, Jason. He has some memories but that version of Dick, our Dick, is gone.” Jason crossed his arms and started to argue with him, but Bruce just kept talking. “We’re still going to get Talon out though. You know we have a plan how to dismantle the Owls, but it still needs more time. We aren’t ready.”

The pressure that has been building all night inside of Jason started to bubble over, because Bruce was wrong. Everything that Jason had seen, that all of them had seen, meant it was more than that. Talon wasn’t just an echo of Dick. “No, damn it, listen. Talon _told_ me that Dick is still inside him, somehow. Cass has been saying it from the beginning. He called me by name tonight. More than once. He called Barbara ‘Babs’ a little while ago, grilled her about her boyfriend and hugged her. She swears Dick was there for a moment and not Talon. I know you have all those interactions documented in the system. I heard first person singular pronouns out of him tonight and then he switched to referring to Talon and Dick as ‘we’ and ‘us’. He freaking _cuddled_ with me because he’s upset. Dick is in there and he’s fighting whatever programming they did to him. And he needs our help. He asked for it. He wants to come home. He said he needs it and he can’t keep going anymore. We need to get him.” Jason pointed to the red phone against the far wall; the one that use to be a direct line to Commissioner Gordon, back when Batman had been first starting out. It was more symbolic at this point and Jason knew he was being dramatic but sometimes a little drama was needed, especially when dealing with Bruce, to get his point across. “Rally the troops. We’re going to war.”


	9. Strategy Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rallying the troops and going to war was a lot slower and involved a lot more sitting and waiting around than Jason had expected, but while he was ready to burst in with his guns firing on all cylinders with unlimited ammo, he had to grudgingly admit that Bruce was right. They needed to be ready.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG, you guys overwhelmed me with the feedback on the last chapter. Totally wasn't expecting that. Thank you so much.
> 
> Heads up. Wordy chapter is wordy.

Rallying the troops and going to war was a lot slower and involved a lot more sitting and waiting around than Jason had expected, but while he was ready to burst in with his guns firing on all cylinders with unlimited ammo, he had to grudgingly admit that Bruce was right. They needed to be ready.

It had been six days since Jason had confronted Bruce after he had brought Damian back to the cave with a moderate concussion after things had gone south between him and Talon and some cartel members. Six days since Bruce had asked him to give him one more week to try and pull everything together. Six days of silence and then Bruce called them all earlier in the day to ask them to meet to bring everyone up to speed and to discuss strategy regarding the Court of Owls.

He had to give Bruce credit that he had at least managed get his plans ready in a day shorter than he had originally asked for but Jason was still annoyed it was taking this long because really, it had been a lot longer in coming that just six days.

As of tonight it had been 681 days since Dick had surrendered himself to the Court.

Unsurprisingly, it was already full house in the Cave, even though they weren’t going to be starting the debrief for another ten minutes. Bruce, Tim and Barbara were standing in front of the computer, deep in discussion, with pages of data scrolling across the displays. Cass, Duke and Steph were sitting on top of the board table playing cards. Kate was tinkering with her motorcycle in the parking lot while Alfred was stocking the cabinets in the medbay. Jason and Damian had just finished sparring on the mats and were idly talking about weaponry, but Jason’s mind was elsewhere.

No one had seen Talon since that night, which wasn’t really that out of the ordinary as they had gone months at a time without seeing him before, but based on the mental state he had been in, it made Jason concerned that something had gone wrong afterwards. That the Court had found out about Talon killing the men without permission, because of Damian getting hurt, and that Talon was being punished because of it. Not knowing was the hardest part.

“You are distracted.” Jason jerked at Damian’s words. He was right; Jason had completely zoned out of the conversation, but Damian didn’t appear to really mind. He looked thoughtful as well. “I am not usually able to defeat you so easily when we spar with sai.” He placed the weapons back on their hooks and stepped back to admire the display.

“You’re getting better. It’s easier when your hands are bigger to control them. Small hands don’t handle them as easily, no matter how well trained.” He was telling the truth. He had noticed recently that Damian had been having some growing pains in the field with his growing frame, a little slower and clumsier, but a bigger stature could have its pros to go with the cons; he just had to adapt. He’d figure it out; Jason and Dick both had. Jason stretched forward into a lunge, stretching out his hip. It had been bugging him lately and he let out an involuntary groan as he felt it give a release. “I was thinking about Talon.”

“As am I.” Damian appeared to be staring at the katana on the top of the shelving, but his eyes were unfocused on the sword. “If anything has happened to him, it is my fault.” Jason stared at him, but if Damian felt his eyes, he was doing a good job of ignoring the attention. “If I had not insisted in going with him on his Mission, the vent would have held. He would not have been discovered,” he added with a sigh. “Any reconnaissance that had been done would not have considered extra weight in the shaft.”

“It’s not your fault, kid.” When Damian had woken up after the fight with Talon and the cartel guys, he had been furious, yelling at anyone who would listen. He had stormed off before Jason had realised that besides the possible confusion from a head injury, no one had actually explained to Damian what had happened after he had blacked out. The kid had no idea that Talon was fine and that he had done a good job or as good a job as could be expected. It had taken Jason more time than he wanted to admit to find Damian curled up under the covers in Dick’s old room, hood of his sweatshirt pulled up over his head and headphones securely in his ears to try and ignore any intruders. Jason had sat down next to him on the bed and waited for him to be ready to talk with him. They had sat there in silence for hours before Jason had been able to coax the buds out of his ears (which he later found out weren’t actually connected to anything) and talk about how the night with Talon had ended, that everyone was okay and that Talon had got him to safety and he was alright. Damian had calmed down significantly once he knew that Talon had made it out of the warehouse fine.

He hadn’t mentioned the blade Talon had given him to anyone. They would insist on taking it from him even though Dick and Talon had wanted him to have it. Barbara had the footage from the roof and had been watching, but she hadn’t said anything about it yet.

“I have to disagree.” Damian turned to face Jason now. For months, every time Jason saw him, Damian looked a little bit older. Taller, wider, more angular in general. Not now. Now he looked small and sad, not a second older that his fifteen years. Probably younger. “Grayson only really asked us for one thing; for us not to get involved with his Missions. I broke that trust for selfish reasons and now he…” He bit his lower lip and released a slow defeated breath through his nose. “I made things worse for him.”

“You didn’t make it worse.” Damian didn’t look convinced and Jason really couldn’t blame him because there was no way to prove that one way or another since no one had seen Talon. “Things were already shit. It’s not on you. You know this.” Damian turned back to the weapons with indifference to Jason’s words.

Across the Cave, Bruce had moved from the computer to sit down at the conference table, signalling that it was time to begin the meeting. Everyone gathered from where they had been previously distracting themselves and joined him at the table. Bruce sat at the head of the table with Tim and Damian on either side of him. Jason was unsure of where he was going to sit until Barbara tugged on his sleeve and pushed him towards the chair beside Damian and she sat down on the other side of him. Steph and Cass were opposite him and Barbara. Duke and Kate sat at the end of the table, but left the other head seat for Alfred, who chose not to sit and stood behind the chair instead. Dark Knights of the Rectangle Table, Jason thought glumly.

Hands clasped and elbows on the table, Bruce quietly observed everyone for a few moments while they settled. “I would like to thank you all for coming this evening,” he said finally. “New information has come to my attention and the time has come for us to implement our extraction procedure for Talon, and to take down the Court and the Parliament of Owls, once and for all.” It was blunter than Jason had been expecting. Despite his demand for action, he had thought that tonight was going to be more theoretical and less practical in nature.

“While I am aware that many in this room are concerned about the safety and conditions of Talon while he is in the control of the Court, which we all are, it is not his well being that is the trigger that is starting our plan to begin and go forward.” Bruce stood up again and walked to the closest monitor which came to life when he touched it. On the screen there was an archaic large stone statue that looked one third owl, one third Minotaur and one third definitely something that was going to be in Jason’s nightmares that night. It was monstrous. “The determining factor to move in is that the Feast of Moloch is two weeks away on April 19. This is the day that we will make our move and the Owls will be brought to justice.”

Jason racked his brain for anything that he knew about April 19 being any sort of significant date and drew a blank. “Who’s Moloch, why does he get a feast and why do we care?” Everyone turned away from the screen to stare at Jason, all with various stages of shock on their faces. He waved off their judgey looks. “I meant, why do we care about Moloch’s feast? I know why we care about taking out the Owls.”

“Moloch is the Canaanite god for child sacrifice.” Bruce jerked his head back towards the screen. “And as legend has it, the original Parliament of Owls worshipped him and it is believed that if an offering is made to him every year then they will be rewarded riches and power beyond their wildest dreams.”

“Please tell us that they didn’t.” Damian looked disgusted, probably thinking of his own past in the League and their blind worship of R’as.

“They did and from everything that I have come across, they still do. It is rumoured that for the greatest profits, they sacrifice one of their own children each year.”

Tim narrowed his eyes at the depiction of the Moloch effigy on screen, “Really? Like, they still do this? It isn’t just something they used to do in the dark ages?”

“And no one notices that these kids go missing?” asked Duke.

“The evidence supports that. It isn’t unheard of or even uncommon for wealthy families to send their children to far away boarding schools. It would be easy to cover up. No one really looks into it since the parents don’t report them as missing.”

“Rich people are the worst,” groaned Stephanie. “It’s all ‘Oh, I have a minor inconvenience. I’ll throw money at it. Or murder my kid to an ancient god. That’ll fix it right up.’ What is wrong with people?” Tim turned on her with a hurt expression. “Hey, not fair. Not all wealthy people sacrifice their children to ancient deities.”

“Oh, that’s right. Hey, Bruce. Congrats on not murdering your kids for money. Must have been tough.”

Everyone around the table started muttering amongst themselves again, falling off topic. Jason was about to say something to Barbara when Bruce cleared his throat and the chatter slowed to a stop. He turned back to the screen and continued, refusing to acknowledge Stephanie’s jib. “What we do know for sure is that the Parliament of Owls requires all members to be present in one of their headquarters every year for the full day for their celebrations honouring Moloch. The punishment for not being attendance is death of the Owl’s entire bloodline.” The room fell into a deeper silence, everyone taking in the information that had just been present and what it meant. Jason could hear the wings of the bats in the ceiling and the rush of water from the waterfall entrance that usually was a background white noise by now. If all of the Owl’s had to be…

“Are you saying that we know exactly where all the members of the Parliament are going to be for twenty four hours?” asked Kate, voicing what they were all thinking.

“The window isn’t quite that long.” Bruce sat back down at the table and swiped on the tablet in front of him. The screen behind him changed to show images of three different places. “The intel that we have gathered shows that there are three headquarters of the Parliament of Owls: one in London, one in Auckland and the Court in Gotham. In order for us to take out the entire organization, we were going to have to strike all three places at once, when all members were in attendance. With the time differences between the locations, because they don’t appear to observe a standard or sacred time zone for the celebration, it only gives us seven hours of overlapped time to infiltrate all three sites. We are going to have to have three separate teams, striking simultaneously with coordinated attacks so that the people inside can’t warn the other sites or escape.”

Looking around the table, Jason quickly catalogued the skills of everyone sitting with him. They were all strong, confident and determined fighters, but... “There aren’t enough of us for something this size. We are going to need some reinforcements.”

There was a faint elbow in his side and he spun to see Barbara raise a single eyebrow at him and smile. “Good thing Dick had a lot of friends then.”

Bruce hummed in agreement and tapped his screen again. A list of names added to the screen beside each location. “Very true. His original Titans team has asked to be included in the plans, and I have had quite a few volunteers from the League as well. They will all be split between the two other locations. Superman will be the lead in Auckland and Wonder Woman will head the London team. We will be the ones responsible for Gotham and extracting Talon. The other two teams are meeting now to go over their plans for each location as well. They are solid. I trust each of those teams explicitly to look after their assignments.” Jason made a mental note to text Roy later to at least thank him getting involved and maybe get a little intel on what was going on for his appointment to the London squad.

“We need to discuss the options and plans for the Gotham side of the mission.” Bruce cleared the screens again and scanned the faces at the table again. He had a look on his face that Jason didn’t see very often anymore but had seen a lot during his Robin days; while Bruce was ultimately in charge, he was not viewing himself as a general in the situation. This project was going to be a partnership where everyone was expected to pull their weight. He was trusting them to execute whatever plans he had. “Each of us in this room will be entering the compound through one of the nine entrances. At the time of the mission, all of the Owls should be inside the main meeting room. It is what Talon refers to as the Bright Room, and is located at the north end of the Court. Everyone will need to sweep their entrance pathways for stragglers or guards. Once inside, you will seal your entrance to make sure that no one is able to slip through once we are detected. Until a certain point, this is a stealth mission, however, it will be impossible to stay way once we are in the Bright Room. Ultimately, a successful mission will be one where we are able to subdue and restrain all the Owls and the Grandmaster for arrest, prevent the sacrifice to Moloch and extract Talon from the location. Anything less than this will be considered a failure.” Jason and Tim locked eyes across the table and nodded slightly at each other. Failure was not an option.

Bruce walked back over to the computer and returned with an armful of thick dossiers, and passed them around the table. Jason flipped through them quickly, seeing schematics and outlines, and noting titles such as Contingency 9: Appendix C. This was something that Bruce had been compiling for a long time and had just needed the opportunity to move. “There are four main obstacles to contend with. First, other talons. We have to be aware that they are a possibility, and if they are, it will be a substantial hurdle; multiple talons that are fast, quick, strong, and without the restraint towards us that our Talon has shown. Fortunately, we know that it takes quite a bit of time and effot for them to be woken up. Unless they are already awake, they will not be a concern. All the evidence suggests that talons are not permitted to be at the Moloch ceremony so they should still be in stasis. They are not members of the Court and are seen as weapons, not as people. They do not have the status required to be there nor are they worthy of Moloch’s gifts, as the Owls see it.”

“They are slaves but without the possibility of free will,” chimed in Tim, who was looking at his notes in front of him.

“Yes, but we already knew that.” Jason flipped to the ‘talon’ tab of the folder, which was different from the ‘Talon’ tab, while Bruce nodded at his words before he continued onwards. “If there are talons to contend with, do not hold back. They won’t whether they have the capacity to or not.” The words weren’t said, but it was clear to Jason. They were to consider talons the same way the considered demonic entities or monsters. The no kill rule did not apply.

“The second concern is the layout of the compound itself. We have gathered extensive information on this topic and we’ve been able to put some potential floor plans together,” at Bruce’s words Jason flipped to the Map section and snorted at Bruce’s generous use of the word ‘some’. There were at least 20 maps. “We know that there are nine outer entrances to the Court compound that are shown in yellow on this map.” Bruce tapped on his tablet and a 3D map appeared on the board table. As he had said, the entrances were marked and each of their names were listed beside one. Jason noticed that he and Cass had been stationed at the two farthest from the Bright Room, while Bruce’s was leading directly into it. He was trusting them to cross the farthest distance to sweep up any misplaced Owls. He looked across the table at Cass who was already staring at him. They nodded at each other at the same time. Good. Same page.

“This is what I believe is the most likely layout to the compound. Each of these entrances lead to multiple tunnels beneath the city, both natural and manmade, that do have security cameras and motion sensors in them. Fortunately, several months ago we were able to have Flash investigate all of the tunnels beneath each entrance to map them fully for us, and was able to do so without triggering their security. He was spotted near a few of the entrances by the Court while he was stationary, but they are unaware that he actually made it through the outer doors. Based on this data, we have been able to both find the ways through the tunnels to the inner entrances, as well as extrapolate the outer dimensions of the compound. Those inner doors are marked in blue.” The image on the table lit up in blue.  Connecting the dots between the walls showed that it was a roughly circular shape, but not perfect. There were some pointed dead ends visible. “Alfred will running comms and surveillance from the Cave, and will be able to cut the live security sensors and feeds between the yellow and blue zones so we should be able to make it inside undetected. From there, we also know from Talon that the inner walls of the compound are able to move, but that they only can move in two specific directions. This does create the problem of many variations inside, but they are not infinite. If you are able to remember the patterns, it should not be as difficult as it sounds. Fortunately, we have a known stationary point inside. Talon’s ‘nest’, as he calls it, is in the center of the maze and it does not move. I do not know what it looks like, but Tim and I believe that it should be easily identifiable. If you get lost, it is a good place to center yourself again.”  It made Jason feel a little uneasy that they didn’t really have a firm grasp on the map itself within the walls, but it wasn’t the end of the world. They had all been thrown into situations where they didn’t know the layout plenty of times before. It would have been much worse if they were heading in alone; no one was going to be lost forever in the Court’s maze at least.

“Third complication. Gas. The night that Dick was taken, they incapacitated us with an invisible, odorless gas. Blood tests taken that night showed that it was neurological in nature, paralyzing and shutting the body for a period of time. It isn’t like fear gas; you just can’t power through it. Once it is inhaled, you will be instantly incapacitated. It is a distinct possibility that this gas has the ability to be distributed through the compound through the ventilation at a moment’s notice. As a result, we will all be using masks or rebreathers for the entire operation, and each of you will have spares in case of accident.” On either side of Jason, Barbara and Damian both tensed up. Both of them had had a rough time recovering from the gas after that initial night, more so than the others. Damian had inhaled more than he should have for his size, and they weren’t one hundred percent sure what had happened with Barbara. There had been a couple scary hours where her body hadn’t regained movement after she had woken up; they thought it had interfered with her neural implant somehow but it was just a guess because nothing had shown up as strange after testing. She had been fine after the initial drugging, but after their visit with Dick, they had to carry her back to the Cave while she recovered.  Whatever it was, it was a nasty concoction.

“Finally, the Grandmaster.” Everyone sat up a little straighter in their chairs. Talon had talked a lot of the Grandmaster, but hadn’t really given then any useful information other than that he was in charge and that he doled out punishment. “The Grandmaster is the leader of the Court, is very well trained, and I have reason to believe that while he is not a talon, he is very possibly a meta human with enhanced strength. When he is not acting as Grandmaster, his name is Randall O’Connor and he is a stock broker who splits his time between Gotham and New York. He’s known to be an intimidating businessman in his day to day position and he was a semi professional boxer in his youth. Additionally, talons cannot disobey the words of the Grandmaster. If any of the other talons are active, they will have to follow Randall’s commands.” Bruce paused and took a drink of water from the pitcher on the table. “Most of the people in the Court will have little to no experience in combat, which will work to our advantage, but the sheer numbers and close proximity will make it difficult. You will need to be fast and efficient.”

Cass raised a hand and Bruce motioned to her to ask her question. “What about Talon? Our Talon?”

“We believe that Override Two counteracts some of the Grandmaster’s commands, but he would still need to follow those that do not contradict his programming of keeping us safe.”

Cass tilted her head in question. “He will not be in the Bright Room?”

“No. His mostly likely location will be in his nest.”

“Who’s going to get him? It makes sense to have someone go after him before we head to the Bright Room,” asked Kate.

“Robin.” Bruce turned to Damian beside him, who lifted his head from the information that he was reading and stared intently at his father. “Damian, your primary job for the mission is to get Talon from his nest and then back out to the entrance that you came in through. The Batmobile will be waiting for you there. Do not allow him to engage with the Owls or the Grandmaster.”

“Yes, Father.” Jason thought that this was a smart move on Bruce’s part. After what had happened with Damian the previous week, he was the most likely person that Talon would latch onto to keep safe, and on the flip side, having him look after Talon meant that Damian wouldn’t be distracted during the fight. Having them out of the equation made sense, but it did mean one less person on their side against the Court.

“Once the infiltration is complete and the extraction of Talon was been successful, we will notify the GCPD and have them look after the arrests and transfer of the Owls to custody.”

“Do we actually have evidence that will hold?” It had been bugging Jason for a long time, something that bothered him about vigilante life in general, and with a bust this big it was hard to believe that everyone would get locked up for good.

“A lot of it, actually.” Barbara pulled a device out of her bag and put it on the table. “This is a hard drive compiling all of the evidence that we have against the Court. Years of documents and videos implicating them in all sorts of severe criminal activity in Gotham: assassinations, corporate espionage, jury tampering… you name it, it’s probably in there.”

“How did you get all this?”

“I’m good at my job,” said Barbara dryly and Jason had the decency to look downwards. Of course it was reliable if Oracle had been the one gathering the digital trail. “And I’ve been collecting this since Dick left. It’s a lot of data. Combine all of this with the evidence that the police find on the day of them trying to sacrifice a child and whatever else is in the compound? Slam dunk.”

“There is always a chance that some of them will end up walking with a plea bargain or something, but at least they will then be publicized for their crimes. They’ll be unable to reform a stronghold in Gotham for a long time if not permanently,” said Bruce.

There was something else that the group of them needed to discuss, and while it wasn’t directly related to the mission, it was important. “Can we talk about the Talon in the room? And everything that is going on with him?”

Leaning back in his chair, Bruce tented his fingers together. “Jason is right. We need to discuss Talon and the evolution that we have been seeing in his state of being. All of the evidence that we have gathered implies the Dick has not vanished completely as originally thought.”

“Is it similar to Two Face? Is his disassociating? Are Talon and Dick actually different people sharing a body?” Kate had had the least amount of encounters with him, but had heard a lot about it from everyone else.

Tim perked his head up. “I think it’s different. I don’t think it’s DID or schizophrenia but talking to him reminds me of case studies I’ve seen on both of those diagnoses. ” He had been flipping through pages of the dossier, searching through Bruce’s Talon section with recaps of their interactions with him. “It is probably more symbiotic than that. Talon seems to be in control most of the time, but he is able to hear Dick or let Dick speak through him.”

“It was absolutely Dick who spoke to me,” said Barbara with firm certainty.

“He told me that it was getting easier to hear Grayson,” piped in Damian in agreement. Jason nodded. Talon had told him that they were the same but different.

“I do have some answers. Quite a few more than we had before that I haven’t shared with anyone yet.” Bruce switched the screens behind him to pull up information that he had on Talon specifically, and from the looks of it, medical documents and scans of Dick prior to being Talon. “The transformation that one undergoes when becoming a talon for the Court of Owls can affect the brain in any multitude of ways. From my research, during the procedure there was something that was injected into him, something that made him Talon. I believe that it is comparable to genetically engineering someone into having a meta gene and that it is parasitic in nature that entwines itself with his DNA. During the process the host’s body and brain dies and when it was revived, a talon takes its place, controlling the body as its own.”

“Like a zombie bite?” asked Stephanie, and Bruce nodded.

“Usually, the Court then uses several techniques to erase any residual memories from the talon’s host’s brain if necessary, but due to the agreement that was made with Dick, this last part didn’t happen. From reviewing all of the information on the interactions that we have had with him since the beginning, and all the experience with talons that we’ve met in the past, my new suspicion, which I am extremely confident in, is that the initial part of the transformation with Dick was not done properly to start with.”

“Meaning?” Duke was looking around in confusion and Jason had to admit that he was in the same boat, but Tim and Barbara appeared intrigued by Bruce’s words. They were getting something that he wasn’t.

“I don’t think the Dick was completely brain dead before Talon took control of his body.”

Everything clicked in Jason’s head. “You think they rushed the process. They messed up.”

“Yes, though I don’t know whether it was intentional or not.” Bruce rubbed his eyes tiredly. He looked exhausted. It was possible that he hadn’t slept in the past six days. “My hypothesis is that the longer that Talon is alive, more of Dick’s brain cells are becoming active and firing again which means that more of Dick’s personality, memories and thoughts are coming through. Everyone’s interactions with him certainly points in that direction; that he’s growing and changing mentally compared to when he first came back. I think that it is why it is presenting analogous to dissociative identity disorder, but it is distinctly different.”

Barbara stared at Bruce, her brow creased in deep thought. “Talon has enhanced healing factors. You are saying that his brain is healing itself.”

“I think that it is trying to the best of its ability.”

“Is it Master Dick then?” Alfred spoke up for the first time all night, surprising everyone at the table. After refusing to sit, he had been keeping to the edges of the room, appearing to be busy with stocking the supplies in various caches and other general tasks, but everyone there knew that it was just to keep his hands busy.

“That’s a rather philosophical debate. What makes someone their true self? If Talon said that he is Dick or that Dick is a part of him, who are we to say that he is wrong?” Bruce spun around in his chair to have a better look at the medical information on the screen. “We can’t know for sure what is going on inside his brain. I will be interested in getting some scans once we do have him back to see any changes. These most recent ones were from a few months before he was taken, but even then, I don’t think we’ll find anything that can definitively say that it is Dick or Talon one way or another. If am I correct that it is parasitic entrenched on a genetic level, it is safe to assume that he is both.” Bruce sighed deeply, frustrated with his own non answers.

Drumming his fingers on the table, Tim was chewing his cheek in thought. “Okay, while we are on this topic. Let’s assume that we all agree that he is Dick, in some sort of way or that Dick is in there as well. What about his physical status? His body has changed a lot. From what we can tell he’s got enhanced speed, strength, healing, hearing, night vision and he’s practically invulnerable. But at the same time, he is dead.” Damian made out a protesting noise and Tim winced and looked little apologetic about his bluntness. “I’m sorry, but technically he is. He has no heartbeat.”

“He’s breathing.” Damian voice was higher than normal and cracked when he spoke, and he flinched when Jason reached out and squeezed his shoulder. Poor kid was forgetting how to breathe himself.

Narrowing his brows, Tim tried to break his thoughts down further. “But he doesn’t need to. It’s reflexive and a lot of the time he doesn’t bother. He does it mainly when he’s under stress, but even then, it is usually emotional stress, not due to exertion. He uses it to try and calm down, not because it he has to to survive.” This sort of detached fact based explanation would have made Tim or Barbara calmer, but Jason could tell it was having the opposite effect on Damian. Under his hand, Damian’s shoulder was beginning to tremble and Jason was about to hold him down to stop him from leaping across the table at Tim, but Bruce spoke up to break the tension. “I think that is something that we are going to have to figure out later. Despite all the evidence of people standing in this room, I don’t know of a way to make a dead body alive again without the use of a Lazarus Pit, which I am extremely opposed to using in Talon’s case. There are too many unknowns based on what the transformation did to him, especially when considering that his brain is active.” Damian opened his mouth again, but saw something on Bruce’s face that made him close it again. He sat back in his chair in a sulk.

Cass and Stephanie were whispering between themselves, when Steph broke it off to address the group. “Can we trust that Talon will be on our side during the infiltration? I know he can’t hurt us, but how does that work with the Grandmaster guy telling him to do something?”

“I don’t think that we can trust him fully, which is why it is the intention for Damian to retrieve him separate from the fight. I think that we can trust that he wouldn’t hurt us, but I don’t think that he’d be able to help us very much. He cannot touch the Grandmaster and he cannot hurt any of the Court unless the Grandmaster Orders it from him,” said Bruce, “and once we are detected, we cannot predict if he would be Ordered to do something that won’t necessary hurt us, but it could hinder us. Blocking entrances, aiding in the Owls escape or the like. He wants to come home though. I think he’ll do anything within his power to help.”

The group continued to discuss plans until it was time for patrol, and then everyone trickled out in groups to start their nights: Barbara and Cass were headed to the west end, Tim was doing a loop of Crime Alley before heading to the Bowery, Stephanie and Damian were doing recon on Copplepot’s casino and then Duke and Kate were going to the Belfry for some training in the mud room. Alfred had retreated back up into the manor, but Bruce had sat down in front of the computer, apparently spending the night in to do more research on the Court. Jason hesitated at the table, before he decided to bite the bullet and head back over to talk to Bruce, who was now looking at drone surveillance of one of the Court entrances, the one that Damian was supposed to bring Talon out of that led straight into a parking garage.

Crossing his arms, he leaned against the desk facing Bruce. “I have to ask a question that you aren’t going to like.” Bruce continued to stare at the screen, but hummed, indicating Jason to go ahead. “How far are you willing to go?”

“As far as it is required,” he said distractedly, making a note on the pad of paper beside him. He wasn’t really grasping the question. Jason put his hand on the paper blocking his view, forcing Bruce to look at him.

“So, that line. The line you don’t cross. Are we crossing it? With the Owls or the Grandmaster?”

Bruce tossed his pen on the desk and turned his chair towards him. “I don’t kill, Jason.”

“I notice your use of the singular there, Bruce.”

“It is a line that I cannot cross and I will not endorse it. That I don’t want any of you to cross, ever.” Bruce ran his fingers through his hair distractedly. “However if you have to choose between your own life and the life of one of the Owls, my wish is that you always choose yourselves. I can’t lose any more of you. Not to them. Not to anyone.”

Needing him to be crystal clear with the response, Jason needed him to say the words. “You won’t come after me? If I have to make that choice in the heat of the moment? You won’t chase me out of town with a pitchfork?”

“Not if it is in self defense and as a last resort. I will not condone you running in with immediate intent to kill.”

“I disagree, but I’ll play along.” Jason rubbed the back of his neck and thought about Barbara’s hard drive of evidence. Of everything that these people had done; the children they were responsible for killing and the brother that they had stolen. “These people are terrible, Bruce. They need to be stopped permanently. They deserve to die.”

“I can’t afford to think that way. I can’t just accept that every single one of them is irredeemable.” Jason expected Bruce to dismiss him and just go back to work, but instead Bruce slumped farther back into his chair and started to spin slowly around in circles while looking at the ceiling. It was weird and had Jason worried to see Bruce looking so defeated before anything had actually happened.

“Are you alright, B?”

The spinning stopped with Bruce facing the computer again. Ah, stationary and avoiding looking at him; this Jason could work with. “I’m concerned. Not about the mission but about what comes afterwards,” said Bruce slowly. “You heard Damian and Tim tonight. The larger problem is that even when we bring Talon home, I have no idea how to fix him or how to make him just Dick. I don’t think we can.” His voice was low and sounded resolutely lost. “Whatever happens, I don’t think that we will be able to get rid of Talon. Once something is embedded onto the DNA like that, it would be impossible to separate again without causing irreparable damage. We’d be destroying more than just Talon.”

“Baby steps. Cart horse. Counting unhatched eggs. All the analogies.” Bruce snorted and it made Jason smile to know that while he was moping, it wasn’t completely lost in the depths of despair. Jason placed a light hand on Bruce’s shoulder. “We’ll figure it out and if we can’t, we’ll deal. Let’s focus with the first part for now.”

“You’re right.” Bruce rested his own hand on top of Jason’s and stared at the data on the screen. “We’re going to bring him home. Let’s concentrate on that. The rest can wait.”


	10. The Feast of Moloch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Those Owls took his damn kid and were going to pay.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Weeeee!
> 
> Next week's update may be a little delayed. It's mostly done, but my upcoming week is crazy.

Bruce didn’t like the feeling that was boiling under his skin, itching and making him feel uncomfortable in his armour. He was nervous and that alone was making him even more off kilter, making him feel weak and unprepared even though he knew both to be untrue. He didn’t have a bad feeling exactly, but something was troubling him and he just couldn’t shake it off.

It was unusual that he felt this way leading into a mission. It certainly wasn’t caused by a lack of preparedness. There were plans upon plans, contingencies so numerous and detailed that even Barbara was having difficulties keeping them straight so he grudgingly had to admit that it was slightly overkill in magnitude. They were ready for this, beyond ready for anything, really. Everything was in place and it was almost time.

All battles were personal to a point, but this one felt even more so. For some reason, the stakes felt higher and it was throwing him off his center. He admitted to himself, and to Alfred, that he was having a hard time being objective about what they were doing. Yes, he had told everyone that it was about stopping the Court and the sacrifice and the feast of Moloch, but when he stopped lying to himself, or deliberately ignoring it, he knew that all he really cared about was getting his son home, no matter what condition he was in.

And he was going to do that no matter what.

Of course this was personal.

The real problem, the thing that was really bothering him, was what inevitably was going to come next; what was going to happen after tonight. His nerves were on end because some part of him was constantly reminding him that even if all things went smoothly in the extraction, there was a bigger issue to face later. One that he didn’t know how to fix; the fact that saving Talon didn’t necessarily mean that they could ever really get Dick back. Not completely at least.

He was almost certain of that, and the part of him that wasn’t certain was just kidding itself. Bruce had spoken with J’onn about him coming in to examine Talon telepathically once this was all over. J’onn had agreed, but warned Bruce that he didn’t think that it sounded like something he could diagnose or assist with, though he may be able to provide some insight as to how things were connecting in Talon’s brain. The combination of mental versus physical entanglements was overwhelming.

The clock in Bruce's lenses showed that it was five minutes until midnight which meant they were in the final moments. Bruce activated his comms and spoke quietly. “Gotham Team. Is everyone at their assigned entrances?” He knew they were. They had all checked in earlier, but he needed to hear it again to make sure that things were still on track. Still following his plan.

There was a murmur of agreements over the airwaves, with Alfred confirming that everyone was in their specified positions. Each of the nine doors that lead to the Court was covered by a team member. They would be making a simultaneous infiltration through the door that led to the underground tunnels and then sealing the doors behind them as they moved. Bruce didn’t expect anyone to be in the tunnels while the ceremony already had begun, but there was a chance that there may be some security guards; newer Owls or those not deemed important enough to be privileged to witness the sacrifice or possibly even trusted employees of the Owls; if Bruce were a member of the Court, it wouldn’t have been out of the question for him to bring Alfred if it were permitted. From their surveillance, they had watched close to fifty enter for the Feast of Moloch celebrations, but there were possibly more inside if any had entered the day before. It was unlikely, but possible.

There was a click in his ear, indicating the switch to a private channel. “Sir, I have word from Superman and Wonder Woman that their teams are in their positions and ready to move in on our mark.” Bruce nodded at the words, knowing that Alfred was watching him on the cameras, which were transmitting live in the cave, but looping as empty on every other possible frequency so the Court couldn’t see them on the outside like they had spotted Wally months ago. Alfred sounded as he always did on the comms; calm and slightly detached, which made Bruce feel a bit more balanced.

Business as usual. This was just another mission. He had done hundreds of things like this. Nothing to be worried about.

Nothing except not being able to heal a talonized Dick Grayson afterwards.

He shook his head quickly, physically trying to change his train of thought. “Not the time. Focus,” he growled out to himself, not caring that Alfred could hear him. Alfred had heard him talk to himself since he was a child. This was not the time to worry about that either.

This was it. They were getting Talon back tonight, come hell or high water.

He flipped frequencies back and addressed the group channel. “Prepare for entry in T-minus 60 seconds. Maintain radio silence unless assistance is needed from this point forward.” This was it. The Court of Owls were going to be brought to justice, not just for Dick, but for all of their crimes. Generations of manipulation and deception against the people of Gotham.

But mostly for Dick.

Those Owls took his damn kid and were going to pay.

“I expect to see all of you back here tonight after this is all finished,” said Alfred as the minute drew to a close and he began the final countdown. “Five.”

There was a snapping sound. Jason locking his helmet into place.

“Four.”

Pop. Cass cracking her neck to the left.

“Three.”

_-tt-_ Damian clicking his tongue nervously.

“Two. Security remotely disabled. One.”

Bruce took a deep breath and held it, waiting for the word. He heard Alfred pick up his china teacup on the other end of the line as he often had when watching remotely. The clink was familiar and calming.

“Go.”

Spreading his cape, Bruce launched himself towards the cellar door across the alley from where he had been stationed and watching all evening. Landing in the shadows, he pried the door open and slipped inside, and secured the entrance behind him with his gel sealant and setting an alarm on it ensuring that no one would make it in, and if by chance they did, he would be alerted.

He started to make his way through the network of pathways beneath the street, and he was fortunate that his tunnel only had two forks and they were short in nature. Others would not be quite so lucky; the tunnels that Tim and Duke had were mazes within themselves with lots of nooks and crannies. While they had maps that Wally had provided them, they were his best two for those paths with Tim’s meticulousness and Duke’s tracking abilities. He did a quick sweep of each of his detours, but found them to be clear, as expected. As was the case of most of the manmade tunnels that ran beneath Gotham, the walls were dark and crumbling and many seemed to be holding together purely on willpower alone. They had been built at one point as an attempt to give pedestrians a system to get around the city safe from inclement weather, but they had never been completed after there had been a series of murders in them when they were being built and the city simply abandoned the incomplete project, closing off all the entrances. If anyone knew that they existed, they were typically avoided due to fear of collapse and that they hadn’t actually been connected to anywhere. It was all dead ends. The Court had been able to build their new headquarters and create new entryways unnoticed by anyone.

Bruce had assigned himself this specific entrance because while it was one of the most straight forward directionally, it was the most likely to cause problems due to its ending point. All of the intel and mapping had indicated that the entrance led directly into the Bright Room itself, mouth of the tunnel popping up out of the floor into the centre of the room. It was the Court’s emergency exit, the one that they would try to escape out of once the mission had been discovered. If they were to get tipped off that they were under attack and tried to escape, they would be greeted in the tunnel by an angry and unforgiving Dark Knight.

Unlike the others who were going to congregate outside the main entrance of the Bright Room, he was going to lay in wait beneath the floor as long as possible until the others entered the room and when the Owls tried to escape through what they thought was their fail proof evacuation exit, then he would attack from below.

If all went according to plan that was.

He arrived at the end of his tunnel which sloped upwards and appeared to be just a dead end to the naked eye, but he could hear muffled voices nearby. He looked upwards to the ceiling and saw rusty hinges and a trap door built into the roof of the cavernous passageway, just like Flash said there would be. Not that he didn’t trust Wally West’s recon, but he felt more confident after seeing it now with his own eyes.  He pulled out his silent drill and quickly put a nail sized hole through the hatch so that he would be able to get a better idea of what was going on in the room above him before it was time for him to make his move.

As soon as his drill bit left the hole, sounds started to filter down to him clearer than they were before, with one voice speaking to others, with the others responding in unison. It was difficult to make out specific words, but it gave Bruce the distinct memory of church, like a reverend leading his flock in prayer but with much more sinister undertones.

Bruce released a breath in relief that he didn’t realise that he had been holding in, possibly for weeks but probably months. This was one hundred percent the entrance into the Bright Room. Bruce had had six different contingencies alone about what he was going to do if this entrance hadn’t led to this room as expected. One less thing to think about. He shifted so that he could attempt to get a visual through the hole, though he was well aware that it was going to be very limited due to the size of the drill hole and that there was a likely chance that the only thing that he would be able to see would be the ceiling, but he had to make the attempt. 

His peep hole was directly beside a large stone alter and had a very obvious beak shape and horns, and had a young girl tied to it with heavy locks and chains. Frowning as he peered up through the hole, he immediately realised that he was going to have to call an audible soon if the others didn’t get in there within the next few minutes.

She was the sacrifice to Moloch and she was running out of time.

The uneasiness that had been under his skin before the mission was quickly being replaced with rage, which was better because he could easily direct rage into action. He couldn’t see anything else from his vantage point, but he could hear the chanting getting louder and building in veracity. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the girl, so young and small. She was not crying, but based on her age, it was probable that she didn’t fully understand what was happening. Or she did know but had been taught to understand what her role was and that her sacrifice was what Moloch wanted. That everything that was happening was a good thing and was her purpose in life. Either way, Bruce needed to move soon. He got up close and personal with evil of all types every day, both as Bruce Wayne and as Batman, but these rare situations make his blood boil and see red. It took special kinds of monsters to do something to children like this.

Striding into Bruce’s line of sight, the Grandmaster came into view. He was dressed all in white, golden mask upon his face and he was holding an archaic knife that was medium in length but had odds bends in the blade – definitely ceremonial but just as deadly as any battle weapon. He approached the girl, chanting along with the others who were still unseen behind him. The girl didn’t appear frightened of him, his mask or his dagger. Her body language was open; she was familiar with him. Bruce noticed that she was moving her lips with the chanting in the background and then she smiled at the Grandmaster before her.

Realisation dawned on him and Bruce was torn between wanting to punch something and wanting to throw up. It was why she didn’t look scared. They had rehearsed this. She probably thought it was a game or she was performing a play in front of her parents and their friends.

How had ritualistic child sacrifice been going on in his city for years without him having any idea about it?

Bruce looked to the timer in his lenses. It was getting close to an hour since he had entered the tunnel, and while the Feast of Moloch was an all-day affair, it looked like they were already close to offering their sacrifice, though he couldn’t be sure if the chanting was going to continue for only a few more minutes or several hours before it would be too late for him to make a move. The knife was getting too close to the child to wait much longer though. He catalogued his options quickly. There was little chatter on the comm lines, which indicated that things were going smoothly on the outside, but he was getting to the point where he couldn’t wait any longer if he wanted to save this life. If he didn’t move soon, there was a chance that her life would be over while he was lying in wait in the shadows waiting for the moment.

“Update on positions?” whispered Bruce into his earpiece.

“Black Bat just arrived. She was the last one. We’re in position,” responded Tim with a soft voice. “Two guards outside the door have been disabled, as well as five others found through the compound.”

“I found the other talons. Do not know if it was all of them.” Cassandra informed them. “All sleeping.”

“I accidentally triggered some gas in my tunnel when I missed a floor weight plate. We can’t use that exit on the way out,” said Tim, sounding a little embarrassed. “Rebreather worked like a charm though.”

Bruce nodded even though they couldn’t see it. “I am in position and ready. The child is in imminent danger and we need to move in. Three seconds.” He wasn’t giving them any time to hesitate, but he trusted them to be ready. Bruce bent his knees and jumped hard. The hatch flipped up as he burst through the floor at the same moment as the main door to the Bright Room was kicked open and Jason stood at the forefront, with the others right behind them. Around the room, Owls in their seats started to yell and stand up, rushing forward. Bruce estimated that there were approximately seventy five Owls in the room versus their eight.

They had been very wrong with their guess of fifty, but that didn’t matter now. Adapt to more numbers.

Go time.

Batman launched himself at the Grandmaster, tackling him around the waist, pushing him off balance and away from the girl and they hit the ground hard. Bruce heard the clatter of the dagger as it skidded across the tiled floor out of reach of both men. They both scrambled to their feet and started trading blows.  Bruce kept stealing glances to see how the rest of the team was faring. Behind them, insanity had broken out throughout the room. Kate sealed his entrance hole to avoid any escapees. Spoiler was rushing in to untie the girl from the sacrificial alter with Duke following, watching her back as she focused on the girl’s safety. Just as Damian had been assigned to escort Talon out, Spoiler was responsible for the safety of the child that was to be sacrificed, if they were fortunate to find them alive.

It was chaos, but at least it was expected chaos. All of the plans had accounted for chaos in the Bright Room.

Bruce took a hard punch to the kidney and it made him stagger backwards with a grunt. The Grandmaster had taken advantage of Bruce’s distraction of surveying his team’s whereabouts get in a cheap shot and then run across the room to escape Batman’s grasp. Bruce needed to go after him, but there were suddenly twenty bodies between here and there, both fighting and panicking.

There were two distinct types of people in the room; most of them seemed willing to fight for the Court of Owls and then there were the few who stood by the sidelines apart from the battlefield. Cass was quickly working her way through those outliers, checking for weapons and restraining them, but Bruce knew that she was also looking for those who were lying in wait, pretending to be scared and cowering until a moment arose and then they would pounce. She was nerve pinching those ones, making them pass out instantaneously before applying the restraints. Bruce had tried to get her to teach him how to do that trick several times but it never worked quite as well for him.

Bruce started to work his way across the room, pushing through the crowd, to be face to face with the Grandmaster again, who was now standing in the upper seating row, yelling to someone to Bruce’s right. Following his stare, Bruce saw there was an Owl standing motionless but staring intently at something off to Bruce’s other side. The Owl in question reached into his jacket pulled out a gun and pointed it where he was looking to, which turned out to be Robin, who was mere feet away from Bruce, who hadn’t noticed him in the room at all.

Damian’s back was turned to the gun wielding Owl, binding someone’s hands with zipties.

Damian. Why was Damian even in the room with them? He was not supposed to be there. He was supposed to be out with Talon by now, through his tunnel and into the Batmobile on the way back to the Cave.

The Owl had a clear shot and was taking aim, hand gripping the trigger.

Multiple things happened at once. Bruce ran, grabbed Damian by the shoulder and yanked him backwards out of the Owl’s line of fire, a gun fired and the Owl dropped to the ground. Bruce quickly checked Damian over, who seemed shocked more than anything, but was completely unscathed. No one else around had been hit. The Owl who had gun though was now on the ground screaming, hand bleeding and pistol abandoned on the ground. Had the gun misfired?

Out of the corned of his eye he saw Jason observing the situation from high up in the seating area, smoking gun in his hand. He had shot the gun out of the Owl’s hand from across the room. Jason noticed him watching, nodded and then continued on his way through his own foes.

Another Owl approached his fallen and bloody compatriot and Tim jumped in from out of nowhere and hit that Owl with his staff from behind, knocking him to the floor and Barbara swooped in and restrained them both, holstering the gun as she went. Bruce hadn’t noticed that the two of them had been working as a tag-team, but he approved. More of the Owls were running towards them and Bruce spun to stand back to back with Damian as they were circled so that they could cover each other. Over his shoulder, he gritted out, “Robin. You aren’t supposed to be here. You were supposed to get Talon out.”

“I tried to tell him that,” spat Damian, who sounded positively livid. He struck an attacker with his elbow, followed quickly with a kick to the shins. “He wouldn’t listen. Once I told him that we were all here to get him out and he refused to leave without everyone else.” Bruce’s eyes scanned the room and he found Talon, who was shadowing Spoiler, keeping some of the Owl’s off her back while she got the little girl to a more protected spot away from the alter. Seeing him was better than not seeing him, Bruce supposed, but he didn’t like it. He was an unreliable variable in a fight. “I tried to drag him out but he kept repeating back about Override Two and then ran here. I couldn’t stop him.” Damian’s assailant attacked again and Damian flipped him to the floor and bound his wrists in a single movement. Dick had taught him that move. “The only good thing was that he knew his way through the maze perfectly and I was just quick enough to follow before the walls moved.”

Bruce grunted and moved on to the next Owl who was rushing him. It wasn’t ideal, but it wasn’t something that they hadn’t prepared for and that Damian knew might happen. They had debated not telling Talon what was going on at all, to just try and convince him that he needed to get Robin to safety and trigger that protective instinct response in him, but they decided that the risk was too high that they might run into one of the others on their way in while they were on their way out through the maze for that to work and Talon would be upset that he was being lied to. While it wasn’t part of the main plan to have Talon there, Bruce had to smile internally about it. Of course Dick would try and help all of them instead of just keeping Robin safe. This way he could try and keep his eyes on everyone.

The battle soldiered on. It wasn’t often that Bruce was reminded of the everlasting Hoardes of Gehenna that he had fought with Diana, but this was beginning to feel a little like that on a smaller scale. The Owls weren’t overly well trained, but they were persistent in a way that only zealots could be, with a zest and fire of belief to push them onwards when they should retreat and they kept getting up again even after suffering injury that would make most withdraw from a fight. His team was definitely winning, but it was taking longer than he had anticipated, mostly due to the larger numbers than they had thought. There are only a few remaining now though and they were almost done. Injuries sustained to the team so far had been minimal. Tim had a cut in his hairline and blood was trickling down his face, but it appeared superficial. Kate was tucking her right elbow against her body tightly, indicating that it was injured, but she and Jason were working together on their last group and making steady progress. Jason was favoring his right hip, but he had injured it a few weeks ago so it wasn’t a new injury, just aggravated.

They were almost done. Soon it would just be the Grandmaster left to deal with, who had been mostly keeping to the peripherals after his initial encounter with Batman and letting his minions be cannon fodder instead of getting involved himself.

Coward.

Just a Bruce knocked down the last Owl in his vicinity, a scream filled the room; one that had haunted Bruce’s nightmares for years. Dick’s scream; a little rougher than it had been before but Bruce still knew it anywhere. He turned towards the sound and saw that the Grandmaster had finally joined the battle and was with Talon. Bruce was still too far away, too many obstacles in between, and he couldn’t get a clear view of what was happening. The nearest person was Cassandra. Bruce was about to signal to her to intervene but Talon called out first.

“Black Bat,” gasped Talon and Cassandra snapped her head around to see him struggling with the Grandmaster. As Bruce got closer and had a better angle, he could see that he had Talon pinned against the wall, ceremonial knife handle sticking out of his shoulder and Talon wasn’t able to fight back to protect himself. “Help.” Cass nodded immediately, ignoring the Owl she was currently fighting with and jumped onto the Grandmaster’s back instead. Surprised by the move, the Grandmaster released Talon and tried to spin around to grab Cass to get her off him.

He spun around right into Bruce’s gauntleted fist.

Cassandra jumped off his back and went to check on Talon, while Bruce and Damian started to fight with the Grandmaster.

Bruce had been correct. Randall O’Connor was a skilled fighter and most definitely had enhanced strength in some way. Fortunately, Bruce had a lot of experience with super strength and had trained all of his partners to be comfortable with the same. They might not be able to out punch him, but they could out think him and wear him down. Super strength didn’t always come with super stamina. In fact the opposite was usually true; their punches are harder, but they burn out faster.

It was probably only a matter of time.

Blow for blow they went, Damian dodging in and out between them, landing smaller strikes while Bruce faced his head on. Barbara and Tim joined them, having finished with their remaining Owls. The Grandmaster roared; he was wearing down. They could all see it and it made them push on even harder. In one final attempt to break free and escape from the four of them, the Grandmaster backhanded Robin across the face, knocking him to the floor with a loud crack, blood starting to run from his nose.

Suddenly, Bruce was shoved hard out of the way from behind, making him crash to the floor. He looked up but faster than he could comprehend, Talon’s hands are around the Grandmaster’s throat, gripped tight. His face is full of fury, and he’s all teeth and claws, snarling menacingly. Tim took a hesitant step forward to try to intervene, but Bruce waved him off. Talon looked positively feral and while he couldn’t purposely hurt his Family, Bruce didn’t trust that someone wouldn’t get accidentally hurt while Talon looked like that.

Talon was growling in the Grandmaster’s face and trailed a claw across the Grandmaster’s jugular, not hard enough to break the skin, but not far off. “Override Two, Grandmaster. The Court of Owls is unable to hurt Family. You hit Robin. Nightwing is bleeding. Batwoman’s arm is injured. Red Hood is limping.” He hissed loudly. “The Court of Owls has hurt Family. That is not allowed.”

The Grandmaster sucked in a shaky breath and then grinned, his teeth covered in his own blood. He spat in Talon’s face and let out a strangled laugh, restricted by the tight grasp on his neck. “Gray Son. I forbid you from laying a hand me. You can never lay a hand on me. No matter what I do to your so called Family.”

Talon blinked at him a few times and a defeated expression cross his face. Slowly, he released the Grandmaster and knelt down on the floor at his feet, lowering his own head to stare at the ground. His hands flexed and released at his sides and he was continuing to let out a dangerous low growl. “Talon apologizes, Grandmaster.” The Grandmaster was right. Talon couldn’t do anything and he was angry about it. About his failure. It doesn’t matter though, because the fight is over. Even though Talon couldn’t touch him, there was nowhere else for the Grandmaster to go. The rest of the Owls were taken care of and the girl was being looked after by Spoiler at the back of the Bright Room. The Grandmaster was trapped between himself, Nightwing, Robin and Batgirl. There was no one for him to run to. Bruce pulled restraints and a power dampening collar out of his belt and approached slowly.

It was over. They had stopped the Court of Owls.

Then Talon’s head snapped back up.

“Talon apologizes, Grandmaster… to Family for not doing this earlier.” Sweeping his leg, he knocked the feet out from beneath the Grandmaster, making him fall to the floor. Talon raced to Tim’s side, grabbed the grapple from his hip holster so quickly that Tim couldn’t react. Talon pounced back on the Grandmaster’s fallen form before he had a chance to move from his spot on the floor and straddled him, pushing the grapple gun against his skin.

Everything slowed to a halt. It was crystal clear what was going to happen and Bruce wasn’t going to be able to stop it. He tried to cry out in time, ran forward to reach him, but it was too late and he was too far away to do anything. “Dick! No!”

Talon pulled the trigger.

The Grandmaster howled in agony as Talon shot the grapple into his torso, _through_ his torso, and from where he stood, Bruce could see the Grandmaster’s white ceremonial robes steadily becoming red, blood pooling underneath his body. Talon reached up and pulled the dagger out of his own shoulder and tossed it aside. He locked eyes on Bruce, still pinning the Grandmaster to the floor, and nodded his head. “Batman.”  The growling softened and he sounded perfectly calm, just like he had the first time that they had met on the top of the Gotham Gazette.

“What did you do?” He was right beside them now and could see the Grandmaster struggling slightly underneath Talon, but swiftly losing consciousness. Bruce bent down to examine the wound, but Talon hissed, slapped his hands away, and then twisted the grapple hook deeper into his prey instead. Bruce backed up quickly.

Golden eyes flicking between the body beneath him and then back up at Bruce, Talon simply shrugged. “Talon did not lay a hand on the Grandmaster. Talon keeps Family safe.”

“You didn’t need to do that,” said Bruce, at a loss of what else to say. “We had him cornered. It was over.”

Barbara came forward and knelt down beside Talon, whispering into his ear. He nodded and let her move in to start addressing the wound instead of retaliating like he had with Bruce. Talon stood, leaving the Grandmaster writhing on the floor under Barbara’s hands as they applied heavy pressure to stem the bleeding. “No vital organs hit. Bleeding. Not dead.” Barbara scoffed and gave Bruce a look that he inferred to mean _not good but not dead yet_. Jason was hovering nearby, staring at the Grandmaster, looking like he was restraining himself from grabbing his guns; his fingers were twitching to finish the job. Bruce shook his head sharply and Jason clenched his hands tight.

“Talon had warned Grandmaster before that he would protect his Family from the Court.” Talon continued in an empty voice. “Done. Family is safe.” He was glaring at into Bruce’s eyes, challenging him to tell him otherwise. Bruce was tempted to start arguing with him, falling back into old habits of fighting method and decisions with Dick. Talon seemed to feel the tension building and started to growl at Bruce when they were interrupted before anything more could happen.

Tim tossed his staff to the ground with a loud clatter, distracting Talon’s attention from Bruce. “You’re right.” He and Damian each approached Talon slowly, showing him their unarmed hands and stood beside him on either side. Talon visibly relaxed and turned his attention to the two of them instead of Bruce, inspecting the cut to Tim’s head and Damian’s broken nose carefully. Tim took Talon’s wrist and placed his hand on Tim's shoulder and Damian leaned into him, pressing their shoulders together. “He’s a terrible person, but everything is okay now.” Tim was right to step in, of course. It wasn’t the time or place to argue morality with Talon. It didn’t really matter anyway.

It was over. This part was over.

Damian nodded in agreement with Tim and wrapped his arm around Talon’s waist lightly. “We are safe, Gray Son. You are safe as well. You are with us.”


	11. Up, Down, Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> All things said and done, things had gone fairly well as far as taking down an evil bird cult went.

All things said and done, things had gone fairly well as far as taking down an evil bird cult went. Sure, his already injured hip was killing him and Bruce had sort of turned into an ass when Talon shot a barbed grapple through the Grandmaster because he thought it was excessive force, but Jason thought that Talon had shown a great deal of restraint. He had been imprisoned, killed, resurrected, brainwashed and tortured by the man and the Court for two years. A non-lethal but extremely painful wound was letting him off easy as far as he was concerned. Batman didn’t need to argue with Talon about it. It wasn’t worth the headache and everyone seemed to be on Talon’s side.

Jason double checked the restraints on the last of the Owls and surveyed the room. In total, 68 Owls and the Grandmaster had been present, and one little girl who was still alive and currently sitting in a corner with Stephanie away from the chaos, curled up tight watching something on Steph’s phone and they were sharing a pair of earbuds. She had been crying earlier and she was scared and had resorted to sucking her thumb for comfort, but she was safe and not ripped open as an exchange for some fictional bump in wealth, so things could definitely be worse.

He wasn’t sure that she’d see it that way though. Actually, he was pretty sure she wouldn’t All she’d remember would be seeing a bunch of vigilantes being the reason that her parents weren’t going home at the end of the night.

Sometimes there were no winning scenarios.

“Can someone call this in to GCPD? And tell them that they are going to need a lot of medical for this many people? I’ve got this bleeding slowed down but the Grandmaster here is going to need urgent care.” Barbara called out, still pressing down on the Grandmaster’s wound. Peering at the blood pooled underneath them, seeping into her pants she added, “And multiple transfusions.”

“I will,” said Kate. “I’ll have them meet me at my entrance and lead them into here. I’ll give you the heads up when they arrive to make sure that everyone who needs get out of here can be cleared out.” Her eyes shot to Talon at her last words before leaving the Bright Room.

She was right. Talon definitely need to be out of here before the GCPD arrived. He wasn’t wearing any sort of mask, and pale skin and weird golden eyes aside, it was clearly Dick Grayson, who hadn’t been spotted by the public in almost two years. Yeah, he couldn’t be here when GCPD arrived.

“Alright. Everyone in here is restrained.” Jason walked over to Talon, who was still pressed tightly between Tim and Damian and watching everyone else in the room intently. He had a vague look of surprise stuck to his face, like he couldn’t believe that they were all here with him. “Talon, is there anything else in the compound that we need before we can leave? Maybe in your nest?” Jason couldn’t think of anything that he would want to take from a prison, but he didn’t know if Talon had anything that he had collected that he thought would be important later.

“No. Talon needs nothing.” He was shaking his head confidently but then he froze and bit down on his lip. “What about… the other… talons? They are sleeping. They are innocent.”

Innocent wasn’t a word that Jason would have used to describe them, but he supposed that Talon was right in a sense; they had nothing to do with what had happened tonight and they probably hadn’t wanted to be talons in the first place. Bruce approached the two of them carefully, not wanting to agitate Talon further. Or Jason either, probably. “We don’t have a way to transport them and we don’t have time to wake them up.” Or fight them off once they were awake, thought Jason as Bruce continued. “It is your call, Talon. What do we do with the others talons? What would you want?”

It was show of faith for Bruce to offer that so soon after berating Talon for shooting the Grandmaster with a grapple gun a point blank range. He was trusting Talon with a potentially huge decision. Talon stared at him for several moments before nodding. He understood the gesture for what it was.

“Let them sleep. Perhaps… if Batman can fix Talon, he will be able to… help the others talons as well.” He hummed to himself. “Talon chose this. The sleeping talons did not. Waking them now will just hurt them. Confused. Scared. Reactive.” Batman turned away to examine the Moloch statue more in depth. He was avoiding telling Talon that they couldn’t fix him which was probably a smart move given their location but Jason still wanted to punch him in the face about it.

“Alright.” Tim waved at Cass and she nodded in agreement. She knew where the talons were in the maze of the compound. Tim pulled away from Talon’s grasp. “We’re going to check on them, but let them sleep, okay?”

“Yes.” He didn’t look like he liked the idea of Tim and Cass leaving his sight, but he still agreed.

Bruce had crouched down in front of the statue now to break apart the seal surrounding the trap door that lead back down to the tunnel.

“Hood, help me unseal this so we can leave through this exit.”

Jason walked away from Talon, who was now listening to Damian chattering on about the types of architecture he could see through the room, trying to distract him from watching as Barbara looked after the Grandmaster on the ground. He knelt down beside Bruce and saw the he had already unsealed the door without him. He chuckled to himself, because of course Bruce had felt the need to lie to him about helping instead of just saying that he wanted to talk to him, however, Bruce stayed silent, frown etched into his chin. Jason broke the stalemate between them first. “You have to tell him that there isn’t a cure. That it isn’t going to be over for him when we get him home.” He kept his voice low and measured, hoping that they couldn’t be heard from here, but Talon seemed pretty captivated by Damian pointing out frescos.

“I will when we get back to the Cave. Now isn’t the best time.” Jason opened his mouth to argue that there was never going to be a good time for that specific conversation, but Bruce cut him off. “Not here.” He paused and turned to Jason, all pretense of opening the hatch gone. “I’m going to need you there for that in case it goes poorly.”

“I see. You are just using me as hired muscle.”

“You’re good at calming him down.”

“That was one time.”

“Please, Jason?” Oh, first named when suited up. Things were serious.

“Fine.” Bruce nodded, reached down and tugged on the hatch door, opening it up, signalling the end of the conversation. Jason stood again and surveyed the room. Duke had started moving some of the restrained Owls so that they were all lined up for the GCPD to escort out nice and easy. A lot of them were watching Talon interacting with Damian with a lot of interest. With the way that Talon reacted to his words and allowed himself to be hugged. It was probably odd behaviour for a talon, even if it was because of the stipulations like Dick had asked for.

He didn’t like it, all their eyes on them. All those eyes who knew who Dick was, and who knew all of the rest of them were. It was a huge liability that Bruce was just going to let waltz out of the room with the GCPD. They could all collaborate and expose their identities. One person was a crack pot with a crazy theory of Bruce Wayne being Batman. 68 people were harder to ignore.

Tim and Cass walked back into the room, and they waved at Bruce, Jason and Duke to join them with Talon, Damian and Barbara. “Cobb’s chamber is empty. It was labelled and he’s not in it.”

Bruce tilted his head questioningly at Tim, but Talon nodded, apparently not surprised by this news. “Court said he is missing. Missing since before Talon. Talon does not know more.”

Barbara looked up from the floor at the rest of them. “What about the GCPD? They could wake them up accidentally if they try to move them.”

Jason shuddered involuntarily at the thought of the cops unintentionally releasing a fleet of talons loose in the city. The bloodshed would be catastrophic. Tim was already nodding in agreement. “I’ve locked down the floor access to their chambers. They should be secure there for now until we have a chance to transfer them somewhere.”

“I’ll come back and inform Gordon to the situation and convince him that we have to transfer them to Justice League containment due to their nature,” said Bruce. “Kate won’t let them remove them in the meantime.”

As if her ears were burning, Kate’s voice came over the comms. “GCPD has arrived in full force with medical. I’m bringing them in through tunnel seven now.”

“We have to get Talon out of here,” said Bruce, more to himself than to anyone in particular. “Spoiler? Can you wait with the child until social services comes?” Stephanie was too far away to hear him directly, but her comms were still turned on and she gave him a thumbs up. “Signal, you and Batwoman will liase with the GCPD until I return. Tell them everything, but leave Talon out of it if at all possible. Everyone else, down through through entrance one.”

“What do I say about the grapple through this guy’s stomach? Gordon’s going to ask.” Duke kicked the unconscious Grandmaster lightly in the ankle. Jason wished he had kicked him a little harder.

“It’s my grapple. Say it was me.” Tim was right, of course. It was obvious who the owner was; the grapple had little Nightwing logos engraved onto it. Why did they all have to be so extra with everything that they did? “Tell Gordon that I’ll give him a statement tomorrow night if he wants one.”

Talon shifted back and forth on his heels a few times, looking a little uncertain about that. “Nightwing will get in trouble because of Talon and the grapple. Talon did not think.” Typical Dick move, not trying to let anyone take the fall for him.

“That’s okay.” Tim didn’t sound like it mattered much, but Talon didn’t look convinced. “Batgirl has enough evidence on the Grandmaster that it won’t make a real difference. I won’t get in much trouble with Gordon.” Probably at least half of the Owls in the room would probably rat the Grandmaster out as the mastermind of the child sacrifice attempt. A little gut wound wouldn’t hurt the case.

A little gut wound where the bastard has lost four pints of blood already.

Duke knelt down on the opposite side of the Grandmaster and quickly replaced his hands with Barbara’s on the mangled skin. “Go with them. I won’t let this jerk bleed out before the medics get here.” Barbara nodded in thanks and stood by Jason. Bruce led the way into the tunnel opening and hopped in without another word, quickly followed by Tim and Cass. Damian hovered in the entrance, looking back at Talon who hadn’t moved an inch. Jason waved at Damian telling him to follow the others. He and Barbara would look after this.

Talon was still fidgety, continuing to rock back and forth. He glanced up at Jason and Barbara. “Is this… it?” He sounded… tired, like a little kid who was ready to go home and fall asleep in the car, just to wake up as the car pulls into the driveway. “Talon… I… home?” Talon’s eyes kept shifting back and forth between the two of them, like he wanted nothing more than to leave but still hadn’t believed that it was happening. Jason knew that that felt like and it stirred memories of the first time he had been welcomed back into the manor with open arms, tugging at something in his stomach. “Yeah, buddy. It’s time.”

“What about… them?” asked Talon, nodding in the direction of the lined up Owls.

“Signal and Spoiler will take care of it. Batwoman will be back with the cops soon,” said Jason. “The Grandmaster is out cold, restrained and he has a dampener collar on. They can handle it. They’ll be safe.” Talon scanned the room carefully before nodding hesitantly. The rocking slowed and he released a long and slow breath.

Barbara took Talon’s hand in hers. Both of them were covered in the Grandmaster’s blood. Talon looked down at the linked hands and squeezed gently. “You ready to get out of here, Boy Wonder?” Talon’s lips tightened and he nodded. “Let’s go then.” Barbara climbed down into the hole, pulling Talon along with her. Jason followed, crouching in the narrow entrance. He flipped the trap door closed behind him and sealed it.

Jason activated his comm unit. “Batwoman. Coast is clear.”

Crackle of static and then a response. “10-4. We’re right outside. Good work, team.”

The tunnel was dark and looked smaller and narrower than the one Jason had come in through the first time, which made his stomach twist into knots. He wasn’t claustrophobic per se, but he really preferred being above ground than under it. Nothing good ever came from him being underground. He straightened up again to follow them deeper into the tunnel and groaned involuntarily, hip protesting more and more as his adrenaline was wearing off; he was officially ready for this night to be over. Talon whipped his head around at the sound. “Red Hood?”

“I’m fine, Talon. Just a little banged up. Stick with Red.”

“Red Hood is hurt,” pressed Talon.

“Pre-existing injury. I’m fine.” He said through gritted teeth. He wasn’t the only one banged up and his issues weren’t even from tonight. Out of the three of the bringing up the rear on the way out, Jason wasn’t even the worst one. If only the tight feeling that was building in his chest would leave him alone. “How is your shoulder?”

“Hurts. But it is healing.” Talon looked down to his shoulder where he had been stabbed by the Grandmaster and poked a finger through the rip in his top. He grunted a little but shrugged. “Healed on outside.”

“Damn, that is fast.” They started to walk slowly through the cavernous underground. They weren’t able to see the others in front of them with their head start, but he could hear Damian and Tim bickering echoing back, something about rats and their place in the animal societal hierarchy. Those two could argue about anything but Jason suddenly realised why they were talking about rats when he felt something run across his foot, but he had no way to tell what it was. “I hate these tunnels. It’s so dark.” He cracked open a glow stick and a faint yellow glow filled the area. It sucked less now that he would at least be able to see what was crawling across his feet.

Maybe. Maybe it made it worse.

“Talon can see in the dark.”

“Well, goody for you.” The light made him feel a little better, but Jason still hated being underground. He was fine in the Cave or in basements, places that had infrastructure and maintenance, but places like these tunnels made him anxious. It felt like a coffin all over again and it was closing in on him. Going into the Court had been easier, when he was focused on the task, but on the way out… he didn’t like it at all now.

Something moved to his right.

Yep, definitely a rat and it was bigger than a terrier. Why was it so big? A rat that big could eat a person if they were stationary long enough.

Like a body lying in a coffin for one thing.

Talon let out a growl, snapping Jason’s attention back to the present. What was he growling at? He looked around quickly, seeing nothing beyond spooky shadow shapes and ominous looking ceilings that looked like that could crumble at any moment now that the giant rat had disappeared. Nothing that should bother him at least.

Wait. Was Talon growling at _him_?

It was then that Jason realised how quickly he was breathing and how tense he was. He wasn’t completely freaking out or anything, but he was absolutely worked up about being in the tunnels and Talon was getting defensive in response, feeling that he should be on alert and on guard. Jason tried to slow his breathing, to calm down and try and figure out how to explain to Talon that there wasn’t an actual threat. It was just that Jason had issues with being underground after having to crawl out of his own grave, but he’d be able to power through long enough to get back out.

He wasn’t sure if that was something Talon would understand.

Barbara seemed to realize the same thing. She shot Jason a sympathetic look and  shook the hand that she was holding with Talon, trying to draw his attention away while Jason tried to pull himself a bit more together. “Do you remember that time back in the day when the three of us were trapped by Croc and we had to wait for B to rescue us, but the sewers were full of Riddler traps that he had stolen? We were stuck there for hours.”

Talon’s growling slowed until it disappeared, but he was still staring at Jason intently. “No.”

“Probably for the best. Was not fun.” Jason took a steadying breath, holding it before letting it out steadily. Focusing on an actual memory, even one about another tunnel was easier. He had made it out of that tunnel. Nothing scary there. “I spent a lot of the time blaming you for me being freezing.”

“Why?” Talon’s posture started to loosen as Jason started to calm down. Talking helped, instead of just tumbling through his own mind’s sinkholes.

“Stupid Robin short-shorts were all your fault. Bare legs in New Jersey winter is a terrible idea.” Jason felt irritated thinking about that Robin costume, because it made zero sense, but it was enough of a distraction from being agitated about the tunnel.

Talon tilted his head. Jason wasn’t sure what exactly he was looking for but he must have seen it, because he grinned slowly. “Dick is laughing. We do not remember but… he says… he regrets nothing.”

“He said that?”

“Yes.” Talon started to walk again, pulling Barbara along with him.

Jason looked over to her and mouthed _‘Thanks’_ behind Talon’s back. Barbara started to smile in response, but instead she stopped fast, jerking Talon back and examined his face carefully. It was dark, but their expressions were lit up by Jason’s glow stick. She narrowed her eyes at him, studying his features. “You’re hiding something.”

“No.”

“You have your lying face on.”

“Talon doesn’t have a… lying face.”

“Dick does and you have the same face.” Talon stood frozen on the spot as the wheels turned in her head. “I think we have to have a serious conversation about Dick when we get home, Talon," she said carefully.

Talon grinned and purred in response. Jason didn’t know what to think about that.

Eventually the three of them reached the end of the tunnel and popped up through a cellar door and into an alleyway where the rest of the family was waiting. The Batmobile was parked on the street and Jason was relieved to see that Alfred had remote driven his bike over while they were fighting, along with Barbara’s and Tim’s. After a night that long, the thought of having to get back across the city to where he had left his bike was exhausting.

Jason took a deep breath, glad to be above ground again at last. He just wanted to go have a hot shower and get the feeling of grim off of him.

Bruce took a moment to catalogue everyone standing in the alley with them before nodding, assumingly in approval. “Talon, get in the car. You can ride back with Robin and myself. Everyone else can meet us there and we’ll debrief in the Cave.” They are moved to head towards the vehicles when Talon stood firm and refused to move any further. “Wait.” They slowed and returned to where he stood. “Talon cannot go with Batman.”

“Why not?” asked Cass.

“Talon… I… cannot go.” Talon seemed to somehow plant himself deeper into the ground.

Tim furrowed his brow at the response. “Can you not go home or can you specifically not go anywhere with him?”

“Not with Batman.”

“This night is never going to end,” mumbled Jason. Something about the words that Talon was choosing was familiar. He was trying to tell them something when he wasn’t able to say exactly what was needed. Jason snapped his fingers and pointed at Bruce. “Take off the cowl.”

“What?” Bruce looked around the alley. There was no one around, but they all knew how uncomfortable he was about unmasking in public spaces. Or even private ones. He'd keep the cowl on permanently if he could.

“He keeps saying that he can’t go with Batman. Maybe he can go with Bruce.” Bruce frowned but he pulled off the cowl, sweaty hair was pressed against his forehead. Definitely Bruce, not Batman. Jason turned back to Talon, who was tilting his head and staring at Bruce. “There. Can you go home with him now?”

“I… Yes. No.” He let out a frustrated whine and ran his fingers through his hair, pulling it a bit as he went and he left his hand tangled in the locks.

“That was helpful in clearing things up,” muttered Damian under his breath. Tim elbowed him in the side.

Barbara was still holding Talon’s other hand. She squeezed it a little and he focused his eyes on her. It seemed to calm him down a bit but only for a few seconds before his was pulling at his hair again. “Talon. Dick. We need more words from you to help us help you,” she said calmly.

Jason rolled his eyes. “What I wouldn’t give for the days when we couldn’t get him to shut up.” The other thing that he remembered about the time that he had been trapped with Babs and Dick with Croc, besides freezing his tuckus off, was that Dick had talked for probably two hours straight. To Jason, Babs, Croc, himself.

There was a gentle touch to his arm. Cass. “Jason. Stop.” Her eyes flashed back to Talon who seemed to be getting more worked up about the thought of having to try to go anywhere with any of them by the second.

“Sorry, Talon. We’ll figure it out.”

“We need shorter, more precise questions. Think of it like computer coding commands.” Tim stepped closer to Talon and delicately removed the hand pulling on his hair. He placed it on his heart and Talon immediately seemed to focus on that instead of his own panic and started mimicking Tim’s breathing, slow and steady. Smart call of the replacement’s part, distracting Talon with something else tactilely. “Do you want to be called Dick or Talon? Just for now. We can change it later if you want.”

Talon took several more deep breathes while he thought about it. “Talon now. It makes the thoughts less… confusing. Easier to… focus. The voice. Dick. He is being distracting in Talon’s head. Talon will tell him… to be quiet.” 

“Ok. Good. Now. Talon, can you go with Batman?”

“No.”

“Can you go with Bruce? When he isn’t wearing the cowl?”

“Yes.”

“Can you go with any of us as long as the masks are off?”

“Yes.”

“Alright, now we are getting somewhere.” While he thought this weird game of Twenty Questions was slow and painful, Jason agreed with the way Tim was handling it. Short and precise with little room for confusion. “Can you go home with Bruce?”

“I…” Tim had spoke too soon. Talon scrunched up his nose and gave his head a hard shake, like he was clearing an etch-a-sketch. “Try again?”

“Too many options for ‘home’ maybe?” suggested Barbara. She ran her thumb over the back of Talon’s hand. “Can you go to the manor with Bruce?”

“Manor, yes.”

“Penthouse?” asked Cass.

“Yes.”

“Dick’s apartment in Bludhaven?” asked Tim.

Same answer.

Tim sighed and looked to Bruce, who stood stoically to the side. Bruce shook his head slightly but said nothing. “I don’t understand the problem. Where can’t he go that he thinks of as home?”

“The answer is obvious.” Damian kicked a stray stone on the ground and it ricocheted off a dumpster. The sound made Talon jump. “Really? None of you supposed geniuses?” Everyone looked around the circle at each other. Jason shrugged and Damian rolled his eyes exaggeratedly at them all. “Fine, if I must spell it out. Gray Son, can you go in the Cave?”

“No. Talon is not permitted in the Cave.”

“He was considering the Cave part of ‘home’,” summarized Damian with a note of arrogance in his voice. “I must assume the Bunker, Belfry and Clocktower are also out.”

“He’s been to the Clocktower,” said Barbara carefully. “He wouldn’t come in, but I don’t know if he couldn’t or if he just didn’t want to.”

Bruce looked interested at Barbara’s words but turned his attention back to Talon. “We can test those later. Talon, what will happen if you go to the Cave?”

“Talon will die.” Talon’s eyes grew wide and he looked surprised by his own answer. He withdrew his hands from Barbara’s grasp and Tim’s chest and stared at them with a confused expression.

“How?” asked Bruce, breaking the silence that had quickly filled the alley at Talon’s declaration.

“Talon… does not know.” He stood up straighter and a glazed expression came over him. “Override One. Talon is not permitted to go into Batman headquarters, hideouts or locations. The punishment for it is immediate death.” Talon blinked a few times, and he appeared clear headed again. His brow crinkled and he frowned as he thought about his words. “Talon was… unaware of Override One until now.”

Bruce crossed his arms in front of him. “They’ve programmed him not to go with Batman or to Bat related places.” It wasn’t exactly new information, but the finality of the punishment was unexpected.

Why the hell had they never thought to ask if there was an Override One when he had been so vocal about Override Two?

“Do you think it’s a trick? Like they told him a scary story that something will happen but nothing actually will?”

“Are you really willing to test that tonight?” asked Bruce and Jason shook his head even though he knew it was a rhetorical question. “If Override Two is real, we have to go on the principle that Override One would work in the same fashion.” Bruce frowned to himself. “It doesn’t matter right now. We can take him home. Jason, can you take him through the front of the manor? He won’t be able to go through the Cave and your bike is the most inconspicuous if anyone sees you go through the gates.”

“Alright. We’ll meet you there.” The group broke apart and headed in their own vehicles. Jason started to walk towards his bike. “Are you ready to go home to the manor, Talon?”

“Yes. Thank you,” said the voice behind him. Talon was still rooted to the spot, because of course he was. Talon couldn’t go with Red Hood, but he could go with Jason.

“You can’t go with me if I’m wearing this helmet, right?” asked Jason, mostly for confirmation and not because he expected a different response.

Talon shook his head in the negative. Not a problem. Jason had two civilian helmets stored in his bike. He took off the Red Hood mask and replaced it with a black helmet that he used when he was busy being Jason. Jason handed Talon the extra grey helmet and Talon looked confused.

“It’s the law, Dickie. Being undead doesn’t change that. I’m not getting a ticket because of you.”

“Batman would pay it for Talon.”

“I’m sure he would. You always were the favourite. Put it on.”

It was a quiet ride back to the manor. Jason tried a few times to talk to him through the Bluetooth that connected the helmets but all he got was head shakes or nods against his back. It was like Talon had used up his allotment of words for the day or was just mentally exhausted. Eventually, Jason gave up and focused on the road curving its way back towards Bristol instead. He was nearing the manor gates when his comms came crackling to life with Duke’s voice panicking over the line. He was talking too fast and screechy to hear properly over the noise of the bike but he caught the words _Grandmaster_ , _switch_ , and _fire_.

Jason flicked off the sound to his bat comms. No matter what was going on, the others could handle it. His current assignment was more important than anything else to go back to assist.

“Red Hood?” Talon’s voice came over the Bluetooth and while it filled the helmet, it sounded small and sad.

“Yeah?”

“Talon… heard you and Batman. Before.” He shifted a little bit behind him on the bike and tightened his grip. “He knows he can’t be… fixed.” Jason heard Talon sigh. “It is alright. Being cured meant Talon would be… gone. It would have been alright though. Family would have Dick back. Talon wants Family to be happy.” There was a small whine, but it was cut off quickly. “Family wants Dick, not Talon. He understands.”

Damn it. Damn it, damn it, damn it. Now he was the one who felt like growling at the other man’s problems.

Jason pulled over, climbed off his bike and took off his helmet. Talon mirrored his actions and they stood on the side of the deserted road. They were just minutes away from the manor but he wanted to look at Talon when they had this conversation, not have it be done through helmets.

“We don’t know that for sure. Bruce might be wrong.” Jason reached out to hold onto Talon’s shoulder, but he took a quick step back out of reach, shaking his head.

“It does not matter. As long as we are away from the Court, it will be alright.” Talon tilted his head back and looked up at the sky. The night was cloudless and outside of the city limits there were stars sprinkling the night sky. Talon stood in stillness and watched the stars while Jason struggled to think of a better response, some rationale or plan that he could share, how they were going to hatch a far fetched scheme that would help when Talon started talking again. “Batgirl was right. Talon has a secret.”

“Which is?”

“Dick is not Gone.”

“Yeah, we know that. We’ve all heard him. He’s broken through sometimes. You said as much that night on the Clocktower.”

“No. Talon… misspoke… on purpose. Dick is not Gone. Was never really gone. More… lost? Talon has been keeping him safe.”

“What?”

“Dick is Family and Talon has been keeping him… safe from being… hurt.” Talon looked back down from the stars and back at Jason, who wasn’t even trying to hide his confusion. “Talon is here, but so is Dick. He was not really there when Talon woke up, just a voice, but he has been getting louder. Stronger. He is okay. Just… protected? Unavailable. Safe.” He tapped his skull a few times. “The times that Family spoke to Dick. Heard Dick. He was not… breaking through. Not a mistake. Talon let him… out. Because it was safe.”

“ _What_?”

Talon shrugged, put the helmet back on and got back on the bike. “Later, Red Hood. Home now, please.”

What the actual fuck?

They had all known for a while that there was something of Dick left inside Talon and that Talon could hear a voice which had evolved into them understanding that ‘the voice’ was Dick. Hell, Dick had spoken to both Jason and Babs with clarity. But this? This statement that Dick was more locked away than anything else. Jason just didn’t even know how to react; he was just so… bewildered. Talon tapped the seat in front of him on the bike, waiting patiently for Jason to get his collective shit together so that they could finish the drive home as if he hadn’t just dropped a fairly substantial bombshell. Jason just shook his head is dismay before putting the helmet back on and mounting the bike. Talon’s arms wrapped around him again to hold on.

This was a later conversation. Now, he just had one place to be.

Minutes later as he pulled up to the main entrance of the manor, the door opened and there was Alfred, standing and waiting for them, illuminated from the light inside the house. Before Jason could open his mouth or turn the engine off, Talon jumped off the bike, ripped off the helmet and flew up the stairs, and wrapped around Alfred in a tight hug.

There were very few times in Jason’s life that he had seen Alfred appear anything other than completely poised, but being hugged by Talon definitely surprised him. He was flustered for a moment, and then returned the hug lightly and rubbed gentle circles on Talon’s back. He hadn’t seen Dick in person since before he had been taken to the Court. As confused as Jason was from their conversation minutes ago, he couldn’t stop smiling as he met them on the stoop. Seeing Talon’s reaction to Alfred was simply magical. He remembered himself what it was like to finally come back to the manor and and see Alfred. Alfred was what made the manor into a home and not just a house.

“Welcome home Master Talon,” murmured Alfred. Talon shook his head, buried his face into Alfred’s shoulder and tightened his hug around the older man.

“No. Dick. It’s Dick, Alfred.” There was a pause, and then, “I’m home.”


	12. Under the Skin

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bruce was trying to ignore the rate of breakouts that occurred on an annual basis from Blackgate, but optimism wasn’t really his strong suit. Theoretically, it was all over. There was no more Court of Owls. No more Parliament. No more Grandmaster puppeteering things behind the scenes and manipulating his city from under his nose.
> 
> But just because something was over didn’t mean that it was done. It wasn’t done for them or for Dick, and it was never going to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas Eve!
> 
> Ok, folks. This chapter is a monster. A behemoth of about 9500 words. I knew this one was going to be huge and I seriously considered splitting it but there wasn’t a great place to make a sort of even cut, so, mega double length chapter it is.
> 
> Confession time: this part has given me a lot of problems, headaches and grief since the very start of me writing this story, but I think it’s managed to work itself out (or maybe I’ve just gone cross eyed from rereading it so many times). I’m at least content with it, so I hope you like it as well. Grab a cup of tea, a snack and settle in. It’s been a bumpy ride and I’m glad you’ve been on this journey with me.

Lost opportunities, missed chances and human error really got under Bruce’s skin. They were irritating, but simple. But this... this just made him furious at himself because in the end, it was on him. His mistake in this instance had cost them quite a bit, though he had to concede that it could have been much worse.

He really wished he had a chance to investigate the labyrinth of the Court before it had gone up in flames. In all of his planning, he had never considered the possible flammability of the gas that lay dormant in the ventilation systems of the compound, because why would that be an issue when the gas could instantly incapacitate? Why would someone need it to explode?

He had been five minutes out from entering the Cave, from getting home and heading upstairs to see Talon, to see _Dick_ , safely back home when he had heard the frantic call from Duke that pulled him back to the Court instead.

The entire compound was engulfed in flames and it was all their fault.

Realistically, Bruce knew that it was the fault of the Grandmaster because he had been the one to hit the remote detonator, but none of them had checked him closely enough for anything of the sort and he really should have been more thorough. It was a critical error on everyone’s part that had been missed in the chaos of the incident with the Court and Talon shooting him but he was the one who had to take the brunt of the blame. It had been wrong to assume that it was over once the Court had been taken care of, even with the Grandmaster out of commission. When Bruce had arrived back on the scene amongst the commotion he learned that the Grandmaster had regained consciousness in the ambulance and had pushed the unseen ignition switch hidden between the fabric of his robes, causing the paralytic gas to flood the compound and ignite. Fortunately Kate, Duke and Stephanie were out of the tunnels by then, but they hadn’t been able to do anything but watch while two GCPD officers had lost their lives and any remaining evidence had been incinerated within minutes.

The only useful things that had survived the blaze were the talons that were hidden beneath the reinforced and fireproof flooring, and Bruce had easily been able to convince Jim were safer in Justice League custody. Jim had taken one look at them and had simply turned and walked away from the debris, leaving Bruce to deal with their transport to a secure site.

That had been six months ago. The other two teams had also been successful in their missions, and as far as Bruce and the League were able to tell, all of the members of the Court of Owls had been detained, arrested and charged for various crimes. There had been a few plea bargains, but most of the Owls were still awaiting trial, facing the evidence that Barbara had gathered, as well as some that had managed to be removed from the compound before it was decimated, but the Grandmaster was already deep in Blackgate isolation for the murder of the officers who had died in the fire. When combined with the other charges, he was facing six life sentences. As long as Blackgate could hold him, he would be incarcerated for the rest of his life.

Bruce was trying to ignore the rate of breakouts that occurred on an annual basis from Blackgate, but optimism wasn’t really his strong suit. Theoretically, it was all over. There was no more Court of Owls. No more Parliament. No more Grandmaster puppeteering things behind the scenes and manipulating his city from under his nose.

But just because something was over didn’t mean that it was done. It wasn’t done for them or for Dick, and it was never going to be.

They had learned a lot in the months that had passed since they had dismantled the Court and brought Talon home. And Dick, because they had quickly learned that things weren’t exactly how they had previously seemed and they were definitely a package deal.

It had taken quite a bit of investigation and research to figure out what was happening with Talon and Dick and despite everything they had learned, Bruce felt that they were only just scratching the surface of what was going on. They were able to get more and more information with each test that they did, but he was still stuck with a problem that he didn’t know how to fix. Bruce, much to his own frustration, had ended up being mostly correct in his theory about what had happened to Dick after he had gone with the Court. Dick had been killed and changed on a genetic and molecular level, and Talon was similar to a symbiotic type parasite that was now hosted in his body. Dick’s body was dead, but at the same time, due to the talonization procedure, he was in a constant state of regeneration to maintain that constant status. New wounds healed, but anything prior to his death did not. His heart didn’t beat. He didn’t need to breathe, though he said that he liked to. He couldn’t eat because his digestive system didn’t do anything or sleep because his body just didn’t need it. His skin was a cold and sickly pale and the golden eyes were permanent. Any injections that they tried to give him just sat under his skin and didn’t circulate through his body because there was no way to push the blood through his system.

Physically… well, physically, Dick was dead by almost all definitions of the word, but Talon was keeping him in pristine condition.

While most of Dick’s body was exactly as it had been prior to his death, the brain scans showed an exorbitant amount of change. Most of Dick’s brain was dark, indicating severe brain damage and atrophy, but there were small spots showing signs of life and each scan they took showed changes, even if miniscule. The most interesting addition was a dark spider web like vein system spreading through his brain. Bruce had taken to think of that of being Talon himself, working his way through, both affecting and assisting Dick’s brain in operating.

The brain made no sense, but it was the only part of his that physiologically indicated that he wasn’t completely dead.

If you ignored the walking and talking part, that was.

The frustrating thing was that there was absolutely nothing that they could do about it. No medical procedure that they had could reverse it and there was no magic wand to wave, but not for lack of trying. Nothing that Bruce knew of or that was within the League resources could make him alive again and even if there was a viable option to try, everything was too entrenched and entwined to separate Dick from Talon without destroying both the host and guest in the process. The science just wasn’t there. Even looking at it from a theoretical perspective instead of a practical one, they were still nowhere close to finding a solution.

“We could still put him in a Lazarus Pit?” Damian had suggested when he was sitting in the Cave with Bruce and Jason. Tim was keeping an eye on Talon who was outside in the yard, sitting in the grass and staring up at the stars. He did that a lot since returning to the manor, especially when everyone else was in the Cave. He said he liked the calm. They didn’t question it.

Jason had vetoed the suggestion immediately and Bruce had to agree. “Pass. Hard pass. The hardest of all passes.”

“It could work.”

“Could is the key word. It isn’t a guarantee, kid. There is even a chance it could make him worse. At least now, Talon is rational. Let’s not potentially make him an angry zombie assassin instead of the calm zombie ex-assassin we have now. He doesn’t want it anyway.”

“You asked him?” Bruce wasn’t surprised. Talon seemed to respond better to Jason in a more matter of fact way regarding his own mortality than he did with the rest of them. Similarly, if one was looking for a more in depth update on his emotional status, the person that they need to talk to was Barbara. He tended to talk to Bruce about things concerned safety and security of the manor and Family, but remained quiet about most other topics.

Jason shrugged, but he didn’t look bothered by the question. “Someone had to. It’s not really up to us anyway, is it? They both agreed.”

That had been the end of that discussion and Bruce resigned himself to the fact that he may have to put this particular thing to rest. He didn’t have the ability to get rid of Talon and revert Dick’s body to its former physical self. The only thing that _had_ been easy, physically, was to remove the one implant in his skull that they had found in the medical testing, a receptor sitting behind his ear that triggered him to return to the Court upon demand and got increasingly painful if he ignored the call. Talon had allowed Alfred to remove it with a scalpel but only with Bruce and Jason present in case he lashed out. He hadn’t.

Physically, they were now stuck at an impasse.

That didn’t mean that things weren’t changing though, because Dick and Talon were taking huge leaps and bounds forward on their own mentally. Plural. Because that’s how it was now. Because mentally… mentally, that was a whole other beast. It made the impossible physical issues look almost simple even if they weren’t fixable.

Once they were settled back in at the manor, but before they were able to start taking indepth scans to analyze, J’onn and Lilith Clay had come to look into what was happening on the inside of Talon’s mind. They had both independently discovered that Bruce’s other hypothesis had been correct: Dick hadn’t been fully brain dead before Talon entered his host, and the longer that Talon was reanimated, the more of Dick’s brain was waking up. It was trying to heal itself and Dick was definitely present in there. From everything that they could suss out, it shouldn’t be possible, but it was happening regardless. It was more of a glitch than anything, but it was a glitch that was favouring them.

J’onn had been intrigued by what he had been able to decipher. “It is unlike anything I have ever encountered. Richard’s brain should not be able to do anything with the amount of damage that has occurred, but somehow it is functioning at a high level internally. There are two distinct voices, Richard and Talon, with the ability to converse freely between them but with countless mental and physiological boundaries between them and the outside world. I can hear them both, but I cannot interfere or communicate with them. I believe Talon could hear me but was purposefully ignoring me and not permitting Richard to respond to me directly. I was an intruder in their mind and not welcome.” J’onn frowned, unaccustomed with not having free reign or access to a human mind. “I cannot understand it fully without Talon being more willing to let me through as he is the dominant entity. Assuming you are correct that you cannot reverse the physical transformation to its original state, I believe the best thing they could do would be to find a sense balance. Some possible way to work together as one.” Bruce had listened carefully to his friend’s input and tried to think of a way to convince Talon to share the reigns with Dick if it was possible.

When Lilith had tried afterwards she ran into similar problems as J’onn at first, but after listening to a drawn out argument between Talon and Dick, Talon had finally agreed to talk to her because as one of the Titans, Lilith fell into the category of Family where J’onn did not. What she was able to find out was astonishing and Bruce had kicked himself for not thinking of the possibility himself and with it they were able to fill in some of the blanks as to what Talon had said to Jason.

Because Talon had been counting Dick as part of Family, it meant that the more that Dick’s brain healed and he ‘woke up’ piece by piece, the more that Talon was locking Dick in and telling people that Dick was gone in order to keep him safe. The moments when Dick had come out, when they had thought that he had broken through and spoken to them, they were all moments that while he may have been feeling stressed or unhappy, he was feeling safe enough with whomever he was with, so Talon had let Dick surface. It had taken some time for this ability to become apparent to Talon, but it was improving the longer that they were awake and more of Dick’s voice and memories strengthened.

They hadn’t been able to talk to Dick despite of Talon. It was because of him.

Once they were home, and Talon could be sure that their Family was safe, he became more likely to retreat or quiet and let Dick be present in the moment. Bruce had sat down with Talon in the grass, under a calm night’s sky and asked him about it. Talon had been thoughtful in his explanation. “The more that Talon could hear the voice, could hear Dick, the more he understood. Talon had to… protect him too. Override Two. Dick was Family.” Talon stared off into the distance and Bruce wondered what he could see that Bruce couldn’t. Shooting stars? Satellites? “To protect Dick, Talon had to keep him safe. Inside. It wasn’t safe in the Court for him to… come out. They… would have found a way to… remove him. Hurt him. Hurt Family.”

“What happened that night with Damian? You told Jason that you killed those men because you had said his name and you had to protect it. You weren’t safe then and yet I think that Dick surfaced.”

Talon was silent for several minutes, and Bruce thought that he had lost him as being part of the conversation. It happened frequently. Talon had tried to explain that since he had no concept of time, he didn’t realize that he could be thinking of a response for hours instead of merely seconds. Bruce was just about to give up when Talon whispered, “Talon was the one who was scared. Scared that… Robin had been killed. Scared… that he failed to keep Robin… safe. Dick came out. He protects Talon… sometimes.” He frowned, looking a little confused. “Dick says that Talon is Family now too.”

For the first two weeks that he was back in the manor, it had been mostly Talon present, with occasional glimpses of Dick surfacing from time to time, much like they had seen over the past two years. These moments were typically when he was one on one with someone in a dark room or outside at in the early hours of the morning. And then sometime during week three, Talon relaxed his control and Dick was able to be there more often and for longer. He was there. It was Dick in those moments, like he had never left.

“It’s strange, Bruce. I’m here, right now. It’s me. But at the same time, Talon is in the background and he’s the one really in control. He’s letting me be here, letting me talk to you, but the moment he decides that it’s over, it’s over.” They were sitting on the family room couch, in front of the fireplace, Dick curled up under an electric blanket. “I’ll be in the back seat again and Talon is driving.” He smiled sadly and gave a little shrug. Bruce ached with the want to be able to magically fix everything to make the strain behind the smile lessen. “Could be worse. He could not let me in the car at all.”

Dick was definitely taking a glass half full approach to not being in full control of his actions. Bruce sorted through the list of questions in his head. “When Talon’s in control, can you hear us?” It had been something that he had been thinking about quite a bit, and he had heard the answer from Talon, but wanted to verify it with Dick.

“Yes, and the reverse is true. He can hear us now.” Dick tilted his head a fraction while he listened more closely to Talon. The smile on his face lightened, and he chuckled lightly. “Though he’s mostly just talking about how much he likes this blanket.”

“You two can keep it if you want.” Dick purred quietly in response and burrowed deeper underneath it. It was a reflex that had come from Talon, but Dick seemed to use it just as easily when he was happy or content. Bruce found it strange, but not unpleasant and rather comforting. “Is there a trigger? That causes the switch?”

Dick considered the question carefully, and finally shook his head slowly. “It’s hard to describe, but it’s more like… a feeling, maybe? Like if there is a big swing in my emotions in either direction, positive or negative, Talon steps up to the plate to deal with it instead of me. Or sometime the reverse can happen, if he feels like I’d be better with dealing with something than him. It’s inconsistent and based entirely on Talon’s perception of things.”

They tested it in a couple of ways and it seemed to coincide with Dick’s explanation. Any perceived threat, physical or emotional, and Talon locked down the walls and Dick was gone, leaving Talon in his place to face whatever the issue was until he deemed it safe again for Dick to return.

Once that had been understood the best that it could be, they started to work on trying to decipher the subliminal programming that was controlling some of Talon and Dick’s actions. Bruce found out very quickly that they had been right to listen to the seriousness of what Talon had called Override One. Other than the recall device, there weren’t able to discover any other implants for explosives or poison injections so they were beginning to think that it was a meaningless threat, but on first attempt to test it, they realised that was not the case at all.

The words ‘punishment by immediate death’ meant suicide by Talon’s own hand.

The first time that they had tried to go into the Cave, Talon had been antsy from the second that he and Bruce had entered the study and the closer they got to the grandfather clock, the tenser he became. All things came to a head one step past the opening behind the clock when Talon pulled out a letter opener that had been sitting on Bruce’s desk (that he hadn’t seen him pick up) and tried to slice his own throat open with it. Bruce tackled Talon backwards back into the study and had to hold him down for hours before Talon stopped thrashing and the impulse dissipated. When asked later, Talon didn’t remember picking up the blade at all and was terrified to step foot into the study again.

Talon hadn’t let Dick come back out for a week after that incident.

The Belfry and the Bunker were also out under Override One. Surprisingly, the Clocktower was fine and Bruce couldn’t understand why. It had been Barbara who had pointed out that it was probably because the Clocktower wasn’t a Batman related station or at least not purely. Oracle wasn’t a Bat. She had been associated, certainly, but it had been created as its own thing and then used to help Batman. It was apparently enough to make a difference, as small as it was. Similarly, he couldn’t go to the Hall of Justice or the Watchtower because Batman had been a founding member, but he could go to Titans Tower. That last one had delighted both Dick and Talon while it irritated Bruce to no end. It was just so… arbitrary.

It could be worse though. It could always be worse.

* * *

Which brought them up to now.

Bruce perused the six month MRI, EEG, PET, and CT scan updates that he had spread into front of him. He knew quite a lot about the structure and function of the human brain and had learned much more over the past few months, but he still was not a neurologist and he was going to need more coffee to get through all these files because it was all still a little overwhelming. Fortunately, Tim was on the same wavelength and Bruce immediately found himself with a large mug in his hand and Tim hopped up on the stool beside him with his own steaming cup.

“Did you see that new blue zone on Scan D-6 yet?” asked Tim before he took a sip of his drink. He had been the one to run the most recent round of tests and had gone over the results once already.

“No.” Bruce shuffled through the scans until he found the one that Tim was referring to. There was a blue dot on the anterior of temporal lobe. It was small, small enough that it could be missed by anyone else if they weren’t looking for it specifically, but it was there. “Hm. Was that black last month?”

“Purple, but still improvement.” Tim shrugged like it wasn’t that important, but he was right. Any change was good and notable, even if it was microscopic.

A new low and raspy voice entered the conversation from the kitchen entryway. “You know, from what TV has been telling me, not all families bond by looking at brain scans together.” Bruce looked up and nodded at him in greeting, mentally cataloguing the exchange. Clear words. Full sentences. Humour. “Good morning, Dick.”

“Morning.” Dick sat down across from them and looked at the explosion of medical files that had spread across the surface. “Anything interesting on those?” The change in tone and pitch that Bruce had associated with Talon hadn’t gone away upon returning to the manor and the physical assessment of Dick indicated that his vocal chords had been damaged between the time that they had said their goodbyes to him and his transformation had begun, making it an ‘alive Dick’ injury and it hadn’t healed itself. Bruce didn’t want to think about the cause or the pain that would have had to happen for such extensive damage to occur and Dick said he didn’t remember. It was just another one of the physical issues that Bruce couldn’t fix, but it was relatively minor compared to lack of heartbeat.

“Your brain is fascinating. I want to open you up and poke it in different spots and see what happens,” said Tim, distracted eyes glued to the imaging in front of him. The mood at the table shifted immediately as the words left his lips. There was a growl and a pair of narrowed golden eyes flashing angrily across the table, and Tim held up his hands in surrender immediately. “I’m kidding, Talon. I’m not going to poke your brain. Not even a little bit. Everything is fine. Safe. I wouldn’t hurt you.”  Talon continued to stare at him for a several seconds before he shook his head and the growling stopped. Smiling sheepishly, Dick shot Tim an apologetic look and Tim waved him off. All forgiven and crisis averted. Sometimes it was just a flash like that and then sometimes Dick would be gone again for days. When incidents like that happened with Tim, Talon seemed to retreat quicker than with the others to let Dick back out.

Dick cleared his throat. “Bruce, I think you need to keep a closer eye on Tim. That is some potential super villain talk right there,” he joked trying to cover up any awkwardness. Bruce just grunted in response because while he didn’t agree with Tim’s choice of words he had to admit that he felt eerily similar. Dick’s brain was a scientific wonder and he wished he had other ways to study it beyond scans and psychics but there was no way Talon was ever going to let them stimulate the brain directly to see the results; they’d never see Dick again.

Flipping to another set of images, Bruce scowled at the results. “Hypothalamus is still completely dark.”

“I could have told you that without the scans.” Dick swiftly stole the coffee mug out of Tim’s grasp and held it in his own hands. “I’m freezing all the time.”

“I was drinking that,” protested Tim.

“And now it’s warming my hands up,” Dick bent forward, inhaled deeply and let out a low groan. “God, I miss coffee.” He reluctantly passed back the mug and Tim greedily took a gulp of his reclaimed drink. “Be grateful for what you have, Tim.”

“I am. Every day.” Tim and Dick shared a smile. They all knew they weren’t really talking about coffee.

“I think the temperature problems are more due to the lack of circulation than your hypothalamus, but keep me updated if that changes.” Bruce was flipping through the scans again and frowned harder at the dark hypothalamus that he was now looking at from a different angle, as if it would change colour on the scans if he glowered hard enough. It appeared to be mocking him. Dick’s hippocampus was even stranger and the exact opposite, glowing bright red at all times, showing at least three times the amount of activity than a typical brain at any given time, which Bruce thought would be the reverse especially given the memory issues that Dick continued to have. No matter how long or often he stared at the images, Bruce still couldn’t figure out how it all worked. It was like Dick had half of a limbic system which was only partially operational at all with zero logical connections and yet somehow he was still functioning as if everything was rewired a work around the missing parts through the dark Talon veins. Talon and Dick could definitely feel fear and emotions, but with a dark hypothalamus that didn’t make any sense. Perhaps it was diverting through the frontal lobe? But there were weird things in the frontal lobe as well, with a very strange thickening around Broca’s Area that appeared heavier on the scans that they had taken when Talon was in charge that weren’t there when Dick was able to speak freely. It was odd, but at least that sort of explained the speech limitations to an extent. It was like there were physical walls in Dick’s brain that could be activated only by Talon’s will. It was physiologically impossible, but there it was, clear as day on the imaging.

Looking at Dick’s brain and trying to figure out how it worked gave Bruce’s brain a headache.

Tim and Bruce continued to pour over the scans for quite some time, noting changes and throwing out theories, while Dick pulled out a book and started reading in lieu of joining in. It was something that he and Talon had decided a few weeks ago; they would assist and consent to testing and scans, but they were going to stay out of the actual research on it. It stressed them out and caused more problems than it solved. He stuck around though, both because it was helpful for him to be there if they had any questions that he could answer but mainly because he liked being in close proximity to whoever was in the Manor.

The doorbell rang, making everyone look up curiously from what they were doing. It was unusual to say the least; most people didn’t make it past the gate, and those who did weren’t polite enough to ring the bell after scaling a wall.

From their place in the kitchen, they could hear Alfred open the front door of the Manor and before he could exchange a formal greeting, the visitor started talking breathlessly. “I have important information that I need to discuss with Mr. Wayne.”

After so many years with the man, Bruce could almost hear Alfred raise an eyebrow at the visitor. “I am afraid that Master Wayne is extremely busy today and not available at this junction. In order to arrange a meeting, you will need to call his office at Wayne Enterprises and speak with his assistant.” Bruce took another sip of his third cup of coffee and grinned at Tim. He didn’t have anything scheduled until mid afternoon, beyond looking at these scans a little more and then maybe taking a power nap, not that he was going to go out and correct Alfred.

“It isn’t business related. It has more to do with his night time activities. I have something that he will be interested in. I understand things of this nature have to go through you.” The visitor was persistent and his voice was a little anxious in tone. Tim’s eyes widened at that but he was still smirking.

“I assure you, sir, that I am unaware of any night time activities that you could be referring to that would concern you. Master Wayne has a preference for blondes in their early twenties, not prematurely grey people in their late thirties.” Bruce had to bite back a laugh. When was the last time he had dated a blonde? Julie, maybe? And he and Selina were roughly the same age. Alfred cleared his throat with an air of disdain that only Alfred was capable of achieving. “I have to ask you to leave as we do not permit solicitors on the residence grounds, which you must have known when you chose to climb over the fence surrounding the property.” Bruce turned to Dick to see if he thought it was amusing too, but Dick was standing up and walking towards the front door.

Without sunglasses on to cover up his eyes. Damn it. Bruce got up quickly to follow him, but couldn’t stop him before he reached…

“Alfred. Wait,” said Dick hesitantly. Bruce was a step behind and saw the man at the door straighten up at the sight of Dick and raise his hands in a surrender. “Your voice. It is familiar.” Dick stepped out onto the stoop and walked around the man slowly, cataloguing his appearance. His eyes widened in recognition. “You were the Owl,” he whispered.

“Master Dick, you aren’t well. Let’s get you back to bed, young sir.” Alfred put a careful arm around Dick and made a slight show of trying to usher him back into the house, but Dick had planted himself firmly into the ground. Alfred looked back to the man, feigning embarrassment. “My apologies. He has taken ill with the flu and been a little delusional with fever this morning.”

“No.” The tone of the single word told Bruce that it was no longer Dick who he had been sitting with in the kitchen. This was Talon, locking Dick inside for his own perceived reasons. “He was the Owl. Watching Dick in the room. Before he became… Talon. He helped Dick.” Talon tilted his head in consideration. “Sort of. Got him to follow… the rules. Let him talk… to Batgirl when he asked. He was… not... unkind.”

The man nodded very slowly while trying to remain as still as possible at the same time. “You are right. That was me. I was your guard on the monitor the night you became Talon.” He kept his hands up and visible, eyes cast to the ground, not wanting to look Talon in the eye. “I was not at the Court the night that it was dismantled. I was on my way to London for business and meant to be there that night, however, my flight was rerouted. I didn’t make it, purely by chance.” He shook his head. “I’m not here to try to bring him back to anything; as far as I’m aware, no one else escaped capture. I’m here to help. The Court would have killed me and my family for missing the Feast of Moloch. Not only did you dismantle them, but you saved my life by doing so.” He finally raised his eyes up, and locked on Bruce, who folded his arms across his chest and gave the man his best non-cowled Bat Glare from the doorway. The man swallowed, but didn’t look away. “I owe you. And I have some information that you might be interested in.”

Talon had started growling, but stopped once Bruce put a hand on his arm. Bruce stepped out onto the stoop and in front of Talon, between him and the man. There was a flicker of recognition in the back of his mind. He didn’t know him personally, but he was sure that their paths had cross before. Was it a gala? Yes. A celebration of greatness in STEM in Gotham to the best of Bruce’s recollection but the details were murky. “I recognize you. Gregory? You’re a scientist of some sort, correct?”

“Greggson. Blake Greggson, but that isn’t why I’m here. Not directly, anyways.” He licked his lips, a nervous reaction to being in front of both Bruce and Talon, but he held his head up high. “I freed William Cobb from the Court of Owls. He is no longer a talon.” Bruce’s brain froze and then started whirling faster than he thought possible and behind him he could feel Talon tense and straighten up with attention. Greggson lowered himself to his knees, the same submission that Talon had shown to the Grandmaster in the Bright Room. He was surrendering himself to them. “Take whatever precautions you feel you need to, but I’m no threat to you. I want to help.”

Reaching behind him to Alfred, Bruce found a zip tie immediately placed into his hand and he stepped behind Greggson to restrain him, before pulling him to his feet, giving him a pat down and then leading him into the manor, Talon following closely behind. Tim was standing in the doorway that lead to the kitchen, and Bruce locked eyes with him. “See if you can get the others here. Now.”

* * *

It wasn’t every day that the seldom used second dining room of Wayne Manor found itself with someone tied to a chair to be interrogated in it, but it was admittedly not the first time. Greggson was bound to the chair by both his wrist and ankles and looked a little terrified to be in the position that he was in, despite the fact that he came to the Manor under his own accord.

He was brave, Bruce had to concede. Not many would willingly walk into the home of Batman after being a part of the Court of Owls no matter what kind of thing he had to trade.

Talon had a faraway look on his face that Bruce had now associated with Talon and Dick having some sort of internal conversation that the rest of them weren’t privy to, but he didn’t look tense. Whatever they were talking about, it wasn’t a disagreement. Dick was fine letting Talon take the lead. This was really the only second new person that they had met since coming home from the Court and Talon was not letting Dick have any part in it. Bruce wasn’t surprised; having to sit face to face with one of his captors was not in the same realm of pressure as meeting Barbara’s boyfriend had been.

Barbara and Damian had been able to join them on short notice and sat themselves on either side of Talon, at the far end of the table from Greggson. Jason was enroute, but had been at the far end of the city and it was going to take some time. Pulling out the chair beside Greggson, Bruce sat and leaned back, resting his elbows on the arms and tenting his fingers. There were two main types of interrogations: those that wanted to talk and those that clammed up and it was more akin to pulling teeth. Admittedly, in his line of work more fell into the second category, but there was always something more worrisome about dealing with the first. The first were more likely to lie and embellish whereas when someone was holding out and then broke, the words that fell were more truthful in attempt to make the interrogation stop.

Which is why Alfred had come in once Greggson was restrained and administered a rather large dosage of sodium pentathol; truth serum in layman’s terms. It wasn’t foolproof, but Bruce needed a little more reassurance. He stared at Greggson for several minutes in silence, purely for the reason of making him feel even more unsettled under his gaze. The man was starting to sweat and was fidgeting in his seat before Bruce finally spoke. “What did you do to Cobb?”

Greggson took some deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. While he had been the one to surrender, being tied to a chair was nerve wracking to anyone, especially when it was probably their first time. “I’m an inorganic biochemist,” he said, seemingly deciding that this was the place to start. “I was able to manipulate the Court’s serum that was originally created to end the life of a talon if needed, to restore their humanity instead. It can destroy the parasite and essentially jumpstart the host body.” He looked back and forth between Talon and Bruce, but when there was no reaction out of either of them, he swallowed thickly and continued.  “Cobb met me in the streets of Gotham one evening and I gave him the choice. He accepted and just never went back that night and no one could figure out where he had gone and why the Grandmaster couldn’t call him back.”

“Where is he now?” asked Tim.

“He has moved on and away from Gotham. He’s living in a small town in Iowa. I can show you surveillance or take you to him in person if you wish. What is important is that he is fully alive, human again and has restarted his life.”

“Why would you turn your back on the Court like that?” Barbara’s voice was halting, like she was thinking of multiple things at once, not just what she was saying. She often processed multiple things at once like that, giving off the impression that she was distracted when she truly wasn’t. “Or are you just taking advantage of an opportunity? They’re gone so you might as well try to turn a profit?”

“I didn’t choose to be a member of the Court nor was I recruited. My parents were Owls and I was born into it. At the beginning, I didn’t know any different, but as I got older I agreed less and less with what they believed. As a child I was always interested in the lore and mythology of it all, but the talons in particular. Children in Gotham grow up knowing the nursery rhymes, the cautionary tales about bad children being snatched by talons, but in the Court, it was the opposite. The Court taught me that the talons were sacred and were to be honoured above all others. They were magical. But the first time that I saw one that had been activated, I was thirteen and I saw it for what it was. Slavery.” He looked to Talon again, and had an apologetic expression. Talon simply watched him coldly without much reaction. “And then when I was 21, my youngest sister was the one sacrificed to Moloch. She was 11. Any lingering loyalty I had to them was gone after that but one can’t just walk away from the Court of Owls.” He lowered his eyes to lap and shook his head. “I’m not asking for anything. I’m just presenting an opportunity.”

“You could do it again? What you did with Cobb?” asked Bruce.

“I have all of my notes and I can share them with you, but we would need more of the original serum for it to work. I was unable to replicate it from scratch and I don’t know its origins. Unfortunately, it all perished in the demise of the Court when the compound burned to the ground. As far as I am aware, there wasn’t any off site either.”

“How much would you need? Of the serum?” It came from a voice from behind them. Jason was leaning against the doorframe, having been listening to the conversation but not participating or even taking a seat. Bruce hadn’t noticed him arrive and didn’t know how much he had heard.

“Not a lot. Trace amounts would most likely be workable to synthesize a usable dose. Less than a millimeter would be enough to extract a sample.”

“Bruce?”

Bruce wasn’t exactly sure what was behind Jason’s question but the intent was clear. Were they believing the story that Greggson was telling them? Was this a person that they could trust? The sodium pentathol appeared to be working and he wasn’t showing any signs of fighting against it. Despite his ties to the Court, he didn’t have reason to come here and risk himself and his own safety if there wasn’t truth to his claim. They’d have to be extremely cautious and quadruple check all of his claims, but Bruce slowly nodded his head. It was risky, but sometimes they had to take a leap.

Casting his eyes to the floor, Jason spent several moments looking like he was considering something with a great deal of thought before walking further into the room, reaching into the inside of his jacket, withdrawing a small knife and tossing it on the table. “Here.” Talon growled quietly, flinched at the sight of it and moved his chair further back away from the table. The knife made him obviously uneasy. Barbara rested her hand on his shoulder, but Jason ignored him; he clearly wasn’t surprised by the reaction. “There should be some on that. Not sure if it is enough to work.”

For the first time since he had been brought into the room, Greggson looked like he was pulling against the restraints with one of his arms, unconsciously trying to reach for the knife to inspect it. When he realised what he was doing, he relaxed back into the chair but studied the knife from afar.  He looked back up, flicking his gaze between Jason and Talon. “Is that what I think it is?”

Jason nodded slowly. He still appeared unsure that that he had made the right decision to play this card. “It was a failsafe.” Turning to Bruce, Jason cleared his throat and explained, “It’s coated in the serum that kills talons.”

Even though Jason had never vocalized it to him, Bruce had suspected that there had been some sort of arrangement between Jason and Dick and Talon based on all of their reactions towards each other, but he hadn’t been certain until right now. This knife made everything fall into place. Dick had asked Jason to kill him if necessary and then gave him the means to do so. It didn’t matter now, but Bruce wasn’t sure which hurt more; the fact that Dick felt he needed to do that or that neither of them had told him of the arrangement. 

“And you were just carrying it around in the house?” Reddening in the face, Damian was outraged with this discovery. “Where you could just stab Grayson when the feeling took you on a whim?” He looked like he was going to leap at Jason and attack like a wild animal, all teeth and claws instead of with fists or weapons. Pure fury. Bruce was about to intervene between the two when Jason just ignored the air of rage that Damian was displaying and plopped heavily into the chair beside him, stunning him into silence.

“If needed, not on a whim,” muttered Jason. Damian started to berate him further, but Jason just cut him off, and sighed. “Calm down, kid. He knew I had it. He’s the one who gave it to me.”

Talon nodded in confirmation and put a hand on Damian’s shoulder. “It is fine.” He squeezed lightly and Damian relaxed back into his chair, but continued to glare at Jason. Talon shook him to get his attention back. “Thank you… for being concerned.” Damian stared at the table instead but nodded.

Greggson raised his chin towards the knife on the table. “I would need to test it, but if it is what you say it is, it would be usable.”

For the first time since they had entered the dining room, Talon decided to speak directly to Greggson. “Who would… I… be?” His words were slow, halting and hesitant, a sign that he and Dick were working together to figure out a way to ask for what they wanted while keeping Talon in charge of the situation.

“I’m sorry?” Greggson seemed uncertain to what Talon was asking. It wasn’t surprising; Talon often left out key words that sometimes left gaps in conversations if you weren’t thinking the same way he were.

“Cobb. Is he Cobb? Or is he someone else?” Talon was tracing patterns into the tabletop, ignoring everyone and everything else in the room. “Someone new?”

Realisation dawned on Greggson’s face. “You want to know if Talon is destroyed would you go back to being Dick Grayson completely?” he asked in confirmation.

“Yes.”

“It isn’t clear,” said Greggson cautiously, shifting in his seat. Everyone sat up a little bit straighter and he looked a little afraid to be at the table with them, like he had given them news that they didn’t like and he didn’t know what they were going to do about it. Not a surprising reaction for someone who had grown up in cult. “You have to understand that I’ve only done this once and it wasn’t as if I was able to do test studies before I used it on Cobb. There simply isn’t enough data to have a firm understanding of the results.”

Bruce understood what he was saying immediately, but it was Talon who spoke first in a hushed tone. “Cobb is not Cobb.”

“No, he isn’t.” Greggson was resigned, and Bruce felt a twinge of empathy for the man. He knew what it was like when you couldn’t work a problem to the result that you wanted. Getting close without complete success was sometimes worse than utter failure. “He doesn’t remember anything, either of his life as a talon or before. He was a complete blank slate when he awoke again, but he is human, alive, and he is living his second chance talon free.” He felt the eyes in the room on him and he rushed on, trying to pacify the judgement of the group. “We cannot be certain that the same would happen to you. One time does not make a result conclusive. The sample size is simply too small for that type of correlation.”

“But… you cannot be sure it will… not.”

“No, I can’t.”

Silence filled the room as everyone considered the implication of Greggson’s admission. There would have to be a lot more research and vetting done before any steps could be taken, but if everything was true, Talon could be purged from Dick’s body. He could be alive again. There was a chance of amnesia, but they had beaten the odds before.

They were being handed the opportunity to fix him. They couldn’t do it any other way.

Talon’s voice broke the stillness, raspier than normal and cracking with each word. “The sleeping talons. The ones still in… storage.” Talon sucked in a breath and Bruce could hear it trembling on the inhale and even more so on the exhale. Talon was trying to calm himself down, but it didn’t appear to be working. “Fix them. They deserve… the chance. A fresh start. Leave Talon… me… be.”

Bruce spun around away from Greggson to stare at Talon, at Dick, at his son. He looked shaken and upset, and it was similar to how Bruce was feeling on the inside even if he was keeping his exterior emotions in check. Were Talon and Dick just giving up? So easily when they were so close to a solution? “Talon, we need to talk about this more. And with Dick. You can’t just walk away from this.”

“Not now.” Talon shook his head, stood abruptly from his chair and walked towards the door. Barbara tried to grab his wrist, but he pulled away from reach and didn’t look back as he left the room. “I… can’t do this right now. Neither… of us.”

* * *

Hours later, after giving Talon some time to cool off, Bruce found him sitting in his closet in the dark, leaning against the wall, underneath the hangers of shirts. It had been a common hiding place when Dick had been a child, but it was one that didn’t scream ‘leave me alone’. When he wanted to be left alone, Dick had taken to hiding under the bed, but the walk in closet was more of an ‘I need to think but you are more than welcome to come visit’ type of space. For a person who loved heights, open air and flying through the sky, he had always found comfort in small spaces and when he was little he said that it reminded him of being in his family’s trailer at the circus.

Talon was the opposite. He didn’t like hiding in the closet and said that it reminded him of being in storage. If he was in here, Bruce was almost guaranteed to be able to talk to Dick directly without interference from Talon, who would rather withdraw as far as he could than sit in the closet if Dick needed to sort something out on his own.

Sitting down onto the ground beside him, Bruce let out an involuntary groan as his knee popped. He stretched it out in front of him and settled carefully against the wall. As soon as he was positioned, Dick immediately shifted to lean against him and rested his head on his shoulder. Bruce looked around the closet, thinking about all of the other times that he had sat in there with Dick in the quiet solitude. Or as close to solitude as it could be with two people.

They sat together in silence a long time before Dick started talking. “Bruce. I can’t do it. The chance that I would lose everything, again. It’s too much.” Dick’s head moved against his shoulder and his voice was muffled against his shirt. “I can’t.”

“This could heal you, Dick. We’d need to verify and test it, but you could be fully human again. You’d be alive.” Bruce looked down to where Dick was pressed into him and felt the familiar pang of loss. Not of Dick himself anymore, but when they were this close together, he could feel the distinct lack of heartbeat coming from his son. The heart that had always driven and given with everything it had. “And we’d stand by you to help you to rebuild. Even if you don’t remember, we’d be with you. You wouldn’t be alone this time.” It would be different this time. Dick wouldn’t have to be on his own as he moved on in his new life. They would be able to prepare in advance. Bruce’s mind had been running through different ideas since the concept had been introduced. They could make recordings. They could do so many things to be prepared.

“I wasn’t alone last time. Not really,” mumbled Dick. He turned his head away from Bruce and took a few deep breaths. “I wouldn’t be the same. I wouldn’t be me.” Bruce opened his mouth, but he didn’t really have a plan. He didn’t know what he was going to say to convince Dick otherwise, but he was intent on trying. Before he could formulate a thought and spit anything out, Dick cut him off. “I’m not broken. Just different. Talon… me… I’d rather we stay together as we are than to lose everything that I am.” He rubbed his face tiredly. “Talon isn’t a villain that needs to be slain. We kept each other safe for two years. It’s not so bad, being together. It’s not perfect and some times are harder than others, but we are okay.” Dick let out a deep sigh. “Talon would be destroyed in the process too. He knows it, but would let me do it if it would make me happy.”

“You are immortal like this. That isn’t always a good thing. You are going to watch all of us grow old or sick or die. And then you will keep on going.” Bruce thought back to his popping knee. The fatigue that he felt and the knowledge that every day it took him a little bit longer to recover and some things were starting to not heal at all. He was getting old. He didn’t like it, but he also didn’t like the alternative. Living forever would be as much a curse as anything else.

“I’d rather see that and mourn you than have everything be erased,” countered Dick, voice firm in affirmation. “I made that choice once and it was to keep all of you safe. I was lucky that it didn’t take everything from me. I can’t do it again just so that my heart will beat, my skin will be warmer and my eyes wouldn’t be so freaky to look at. Yes, it would be nice to eat and sleep again, but I don’t need those things and the reward isn’t worth the risk. What I need is my family, the way that they are and the way I remember them, as flawed as that may be. I can’t lose that. We know other people with extended lifespans or that are theoretically immortal. I wouldn’t be completely alone for eternity. And who knows? Maybe it will help future little Bat People to have their wacky immortal Uncle Talon hanging around.”

“Not Nightwing?” Talon had been going out in the field with them some nights, when he had heard that things were going to be dangerous. He had mostly stayed out of sight, but had wanted to be out there with them because if he could see them rather than just waiting at the Manor he could keep them safe.

“Nah. Nightwing is Tim’s now and even if it weren’t, that isn’t who I am anymore.” His voice sounded wistful, but accepting. “I can be Talon when I’m out there. He’s a part of me either way. Might as well embrace it.”

It wasn’t the only hurdle. There were still obstacles that they hadn’t found their way around. “You can’t go in the Cave without trying to slice your own throat.” Bruce had been considering asking J’onn to try and go in again, to see if they could get rid of that particular programming, but had been holding off. He was concerned about Override One and Override Two being dependent on each other.

“Oh, ye of little faith. I don’t need to go in the Cave. I can work out of the Clocktower if I need to or make my own little base.” He paused, listening. “Talon says he would like a nest of his own at some point.” He grinned, but something about it looked forced. Bruce raised an eyebrow at him in question, but Dick just waved it off before standing up slowly. “Come on. I have to get out of the closet. Talon’s getting antsy being trapped in here and he’s beginning to make my brain itch.” Once on his feet, Dick raised his arms into the air and stretched long and tall to each side before realising that Bruce was still down on the floor looking up at him in disbelief. He grinned and offered him a hand to help him up off the floor. “Bruce. I’ll be fine. You trusted me to make the choice to be the Court’s Talon if it was ever needed. Please trust me again with this.”

Bruce looked between the hand and Dick’s face. It wasn’t his choice to make. If Dick said that this is what he wanted, he had to trust him and support the decision. He grabbed his son’s hand and stood. “Of course.” He pulled Dick into a hug, and felt him wrap his arms around him tightly. “I’ll support your decision. We’re happy to have you in whatever shape.”

“I can’t lose you guys again,” He paused for a second, listening to something only he could hear, and then nodded, “Neither of us can. We’ve made up our mind. Talon and I are in it for the long run as we are. Together.” They broke apart and walked out of the closet. Bruce started towards the door when he felt a hand on his arm, stopping him. He turned back towards Dick, on the cusp of asking him if there was anything more he needed to add, but there was something behind the eyes and in the posture that told him it wasn’t Dick anymore.

“Yes, Talon?”

“Do not worry about us. We will be fine as we are. This is Dick's decision. It is what he wants. ” Talon looked Bruce square in the face with a serious expression and nodded sharply. “Talon and Dick will keep Family safe for Batman. Forever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So there we are. 
> 
> Just the epilogue to go now. I do have a few small 'missing moment' type little stories that I have off to the side that I'm hoping to post at some point. Right now, I have a Damian and a Barbara one kicking around.
> 
> If you have any requests for something that you'd be dying to read or see, let me know. I can't make any promises, but I'll see what happens.
> 
> See you in a week to wrap this all up!


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Forever can be a long time, but it isn't so bad when you aren't alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy New Year's Eve! It feels fitting to wrap this up on the last day of the year. 
> 
> Thank you to everyone who has read or left kudos or comments or sent me some messages about it. It made me thrilled to know that other people were enjoying my weird little TalonAU. I've never written anything this long before and I was a little terrified the entire time.
> 
> All the best in 2019, everyone. Please enjoy the last part, which is about 87% bittersweet fluff :)

_5 YEARS_

“Well, look at you. You’re so beautiful.”

The bundle in his arms was wrapped in a pink blanket and was fast asleep. Dick had already counted her fingers and toes (twice), touched her soft red hair lovingly and had taken in that new baby smell. He grinned at the parents. “Congratulations, guys.” Barbara was sitting up in the bed, looking exhausted but radiant. Jake sat in the chair beside her, with a giddy expression glued to his face. It had been a few hours and he was the last one to visit, sneaking in the building after hours to avoid the nurses. “I’m so proud of you, Babs. You made a tiny human. And she’s perfect.” He counted her fingers again before he looked down into her tiny face and cooed at her a little more before he realized he was missing some vital information. “What’s her name?”

Barbara and Jake had a silent conversation with their eyes. “We wanted to talk to you about that, before we make it all legal and official.” Barbara held out her hand to Dick and he grabbed it, cradling the baby close to him with his other arm. He had to admit that he was confused, because what on earth did he have to do with the naming of their baby. Barbara squeezed his fingers.  “We were wondering if it would be ok with you if we named her Mary. It’s what we’ve been calling her for months.”

His eyes flicked between the baby, _Mary_ , and Barbara several times as the words sank in. Were they going to call her Mary after… really? “After… Di… my mother?” He closed his eyes for a few seconds and let out a long slow breath. He was getting flustered and words were becoming trickier to have a handle on. _Talon. Calm down, buddy. Nothing’s wrong. Let me talk to Babs._

“Yes.” She smiled and squeezed his hand tight, warming his cold fingers. “You’ve been one of my best friend’s since we were kids. Something more than that. You are my family and I love you and we wanted to pay tribute that. Without your mother, I wouldn’t have you in my life or the rest of our weird found family. I never met her, but she is a very important person who affected a lot of the direction that my life ended up going.”

“Jake?” Once they had finally met, Dick and Jake got on like long lost brothers. Talon gave Jake a scary shovel talk, but he also approved of him and considered him Family. He made Barbara happy, and that was all either of them cared about. Still, Dick had to wonder if he was really okay with this; with his child being named after his wife’s zombie ex-boyfriend’s mother. Jake was pretty used to weird by now though, being a member of their strange little group since well before he and Barbara had gotten married and was now accustomed to random Bats dropping into the Clocktower at any given time for him to patch them up.

“I like it. We wanted both of our family’s to be honoured to influential women in our lives. Her middle name is Carolynne after my grandmother who helped put me through med school.” Jake smiled at the man holding his daughter, trusting him implicitly with the hours old infant. “Believe me, Dick. We’ve talked about it a lot. I think it’s a great idea as long as it’s okay with you.”

“Yes.” Things were started to break down. Words needed to be pushed out with a little more force and focus, but there could only be one answer. “Yes. Thank you.”

Barbara was studying his face carefully, looking like she wanted to add something but wasn’t sure if she should. She could always tell when he was close to the line between Dick and Talon and didn’t want to push him if he wasn’t cognizant of it. Dick nodded and she rubbed her thumb over the back of his hand a few times in attempt to calm him, keep him present in the moment. “If it’s not too much, one more thing? Will you be her godfather? We can’t think of anyone that I can trust more to look out for her.”

As the words came out of Barbara’s mouth, it was too much for Dick to handle and the walls snapped into place in his mind. It was like his brain had a sudden case of the hiccups and his thoughts became stuttered and the connection from his brain to his mouth no longer worked. Too big of a surprise. Too much stress. Talon had locked him in. Dick pushed against the invisible walls that were blocking him from the world, but they didn’t budge. At least he could still talk to Talon and plead his case. _Talon? Accept, please? Let us look after Barbara’s family. Look after Mary._

“Yes.” Talon looked down at the tiny human in his arms. He didn’t need to listen to Dick. He was already thinking of the future. Things they could teach her, share with her. There was a giant world that they could help her learn and explore. “Mary is Family.” He kissed her gently on the forehead. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her. She was something special. Something bigger. Something more. “Will keep her safe. Always.”

Barbara pulled him closer and wrapped him in a hug, Mary resting in between them and Jake rested a light hand on his shoulder. Barbara whispered in his ear, “Thank you, Talon”

If they were able to cry, there would be tears of joy streaming down their cheeks.

* * *

  
_10 YEARS_

“Are you ready?” Dick was standing next to Damian, peering out over the city, with one foot on the edge of the building, ready to leap and soar across the skyline. It was a night almost like every other night in Gotham. It was dark and cool and there was a mist that was covering the city that gave it an almost mystical look. It was familiar and soothing.

Except for one major difference.

For the first time in a long time, Damian seemed hesitant to get started. He peered over the edge for a long time, flexing his fingers, before he voiced his thoughts. “I’ve been training for this my entire life.”

“But?”

“What if I’m not good enough?” Ten year old Damian Al Ghul would never had said such a statement, but twenty five year old Damian Wayne had no such reservations, especially not with Dick. It was a little strange to hear the doubt coming from a giant man beside him with the cowl on his head, cape sweeping over his shoulders and the bat gleaming from his chest.

Tonight was the night.

Damian was Batman.

It had been a long time coming, but somehow it had still snuck up on all of them.

“You are more than ready,” said Dick, but Damian gave no response, just continuing to observe the city below him. “You’re older than Bruce was when he became Batman and you have a ton more experience. You are going to be great.” He thought for a second before adding “Better than I was.”

That got Damian’s attention and Dick could see his eyes narrow and twitch in his direction. “I’m not sure I can live up to that praise. All respect to Father, but we were the best. You were the best.” He studied his boots in earnest. “What if I make a fool of myself?”

“Then you make a fool of yourself. You wouldn’t be the first Batman to trip over his own cape.” Dick shrugged then looked down at the cape sweeping around Damian and shook his head. “Capes are the worst. You should’ve got rid of it in your redesign.”

That got his attention fully and Damian turned to glare at him. It was a pretty good glare, sure to intimidate criminals and anyone else that wasn’t Dick. “Capes are noble and intimidating.”

“No, they are silly and dramatic and they get caught on things.” Talon reminded him that they were good for gliding, but Dick ignored him. They had wings for that and they were way better than any cape.

“Won’t you ever grow up, Grayson?” As soon as he heard the words leave his mouth, Dick could tell that Damian regretted saying them and Damian cast his eyes downward once more. It was odd to seem him look ashamed while in the cowl. “I apologize. That was insensitive.”

Dick grinned and shook off Damian’s concerns. It wasn’t something that bothered him, or at least not right now. “It’s fine. Part of my charm to be eternally 24.”

“I’m still unable to believe I’m older than you. Physically.” Damian was silent again for a minute, keeping his thoughts to himself, before he stood up straight and turned back to Dick, drawing himself up to full height. He was ready. He was going to be able to do this. He was going to succeed. God, this kid had grown up so much. “If I’m Batman, does that make you my Robin now?”

“Are you getting forgetful in your advanced age, Batman?” He tapped his head and then his heart. He heard Talon’s praise inside, that he was using his own explanation to Damian again. “Always Robin.”

Damian nodded, and faced the city again. “You would make an acceptable Robin again. You are short enough,” he said dryly.

“Ouch. Now _that_ hurt.”

There was a crackle over their earpieces, interrupting them before they could start to bicker further. “If the two of you are done talking, there is a city to protect and justice to serve,” said Bruce’s voice over their communicators. “The night is yours, Batman.”

Dick imagined Bruce where he was now, sitting in the Cave at the computer, probably with a fresh pot of coffee nearby, fidgeting as he watched his son take his place in the cape and cowl. He was nervous, probably more than Damian was, but he was trying not to show it. Time and injuries had finally caught up with Bruce and he had grudgingly retired from active duty now that Damian was the person that he needed to be to take over the role.

It was a big step. The last step.

Now there was one literal step Damian had to take.

With one last look towards him, Damian leapt off the building, extended his cape and glided through the streets below as Dick watched from his perch. _You understand this, Talon? Damian is now Batman_. _Robin is Batman. Kestrel is Batman._

_RobinKestrelBatman,_ responded Talon. _Talon understands. Talon is proud. Robin has grown up._

“Good. Let’s go keep watch. A Robin must always keep Batman safe.”

Talon fired his grapple into the night and fly off in the night’s sky. He had Family to protect.

* * *

_20 YEARS_

Dick stood on the top of a neighbouring building while a crowd of people gathered below him, all looking in the other direction. It was nice day, for Gotham, and there were more people out than expected. From where he stood, he could see Tim step up to the microphone in his fresh suit and address the crowd with a smile on his face. They hadn’t seen him in a few weeks and Talon purred at the sight of him.

“Today the Wayne Foundation is proud of open its newest project: The Richard Grayson Sport and Recreation Centre!” The crowd applauded politely. “My brother had a passion for physical activity from a young age, having been an aerialist in a circus as a child, however he was never happy with the idea that financial situations could be the thing that stopped a child from following their passion in sport. What if the next athletic phenom is here in Gotham, but unable to participate just because they can’t afford to? What if someone never discovers that they have an enthusiasm for an activity just because they can’t pay for the equipment to take the court? To even the playing field, all youth programming run through this facility, and the four others like it that will be open within the next two years, will be free of charge to citizens of Gotham.” There was a hush over the crowd before there was an explosion of chatter. Tim grinned at the reaction and continued. “Additionally, if they are looking for a sport that isn’t able to be provided through these centres, there are scholarship opportunities to apply for so that they have the chance to do it elsewhere and still have the chance to achieve their dreams.” He spread his arms out to the crowd in front of him. “Dick would be so happy to see these doors open to the community and so many children are being given the ability to participate in sport that wouldn’t have had the chance otherwise. I know that he is watching us somehow and is here with us in spirit on this day.” More applause, this time, it was much more enthusiastic. Tim took the time to answer some questions, before ending the press conference by cutting the ribbon and opening the doors to let people in for a tour of the facility before it officially opened next month.

Dick continued to people watch as they went in and out of the building until he heard a pair of feet join him on the roof. He spun around to see Tim loosening his tie as he approached. Dick wrapped an arm around his shoulder and pulled him in for a tight squeeze. Talon made an unusual internal squawk when he got close to Tim, but Dick ignored it. “I am happy to see those doors finally open.” He reached up and ruffled Tim’s hair, and got a squeal out of his brother that sounded hilarious on a 39 year old man. “I can’t believe you used Richard, though. No one calls me that except Damian.”

Tugging away from Dick, Tim tried to rescue his hair and fix it back into a more professional look, but only managed to make it worse. Dick laughed, but Talon was agitated and had started prodding at Dick.

_Nightwing needs help_.

“I couldn’t put _Dick_ on a building sign. That is just asking to be vandalized. We’d be repainting it every other week.” 

Dick leaned against the top of the roof. “It’s a great project. Good for kids and families in the city.” He was happy. This project was amazing, but Talon was distracting him. He was concerned about Tim for some reason, but not pushing his way out. _Nightwing is hurt. Help. Helphelphelp_. Dick was confused because Tim clearly wasn’t hurt. “I’m proud of you.”

“Just doing my job,”

“You are running a multi billion dollar corporation.” Talon was being insistent and he was having a hard time maintaining the conversation and found himself mentally cataloguing his brother instead, trying to figure out what Talon was telling him. Tim looked tired, but not overwhelmed. It did look like he had lost some weight, but his clothes were still fitting fine enough.

“To be fair, I’ve been doing that since I was 17. If I was good at it, it would be a trillion dollar corporation by now.” He paused and looked off into the distance, lost in thought before he shook himself back. “Though, if this year’s financials keep going at this rate… maybe.”

“That’s great, but not what I meant exactly.” Dick bit his lip while Talon kept chattering. _Hurt. No. Sick. Help_. “I meant that you’re still helping even though you’ve hung up the cape. Or tights as the case may be.”

“I always told you that it wasn’t a lifetime gig for me.”

“I know. I just didn’t believe you, especially when you kept going. You retiring wasn’t a big a shock as Jason was though.”

“Really? I knew he wasn’t a lifer at heart either but I didn’t expect him to quit before me.”

“I hear having kids can make you re-evaluate your priorities,” mumbled Dick. Talon was yelling so loudly that it was beginning to give him a headache. _Nightwing smells… wrong. Sick. Fix Nightwing._

“They do. I lose my mind every time mine stubs a toe. I have no idea how Bruce let tiny-you go out with him.”

Dick struggled to keep the conversation going. He winced as his head throbbed. It wasn’t often that Talon acted like this and it was always serious when he did. “It’s not like he was the most mature adult when he took me in though.”

“In that case, I have no idea how Alfred let him take you out with him.”

“Yeah, that I can’t explain.” Talon was screaming at him now. If he didn’t make a decision soon, Talon was just going to lock him in and take over, though he seemed to want Dick to do it. “Tim?”

“Yeah?”

“Are you alright?”

“How so?”

“Talon…” He debated how to ask the question before he just decided to be direct. “Talon says you’re hurt. He’s freaking out about it.”

“I’m fine.” Talon slipped out a growl and Dick slapped a hand over his mouth as if that would stop it. Tim reddened from being caught in his lie. “Okay, I’m mostly fine. I have a tumour in my large intestine. Colon cancer, but they caught it super early. I’ve been doing radiation and the prognosis is good. Apparently there is an increased chance of cancer is a risk when you’ve had a splenectomy. I must not have read the fine print before R’as took mine out.”

Dick was shocked, but his first reaction was to groan. Only Tim would think that cancer at any stage was small enough to be considered fine and not bother anyone with it. “Chemo? Surgery?”

“Doctors don’t think I’ll need it, but we’ll see after radiation. I have a couple more sessions before they look again.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“It’s not serious.” Dick must have looked skeptical because Tim sigh and continued. “I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I’d tell you if things were bad.”

“Like, if you were terminal? It is literally my job to worry about you. It’s the entire reason I’m still here.” He felt helpless. Give him something to punch or a problem to solve, but this was out of his realm. “What can we do?”

“Nothing.”

With that single word, Dick found himself locked in because Talon had had enough and wanted to talk to Tim himself. “Talon… wants to help. Keep Nightwing… safe.”

“This isn’t something you can fight for me. Either of you.” Talon huffed in response, which just made Tim roll his eyes. He looked pensive for a moment, considering possible options. “What if I let you pick me up after my next treatment? You can drive me home. I get tired afterwards and you can make sure I nap.”

“Yes. That would be acceptable. Sleep will help Nightwing.” Talon rocked back and forth on his feet and wrapped his arms around himself. He knew what Nightwing was doing. He was trying to help make Talon feel better when it should be the other way around. Dick or Talon should have been the one to make it better. “Talon wishes he could do more.” He did not know what to do. Family wasn’t safe and he couldn’t fix it.

Tim stepped forward and pulled him into a proper hug. “This isn’t something you can help with other than to just be there for me. It’s one of those getting older, human things that we have to deal with sometimes.” Talon let out a sad whine as Tim pet his head and whispered in his ear.

“Not this time, buddy. This fight is all on me.”

* * *

 

_30 YEARS_

“Have I ever told you how great it is that you started this place?”

When Cass had first told him that she was going to build a home and training centre for young meta humans and super heroes in training for them to go to school, live, train and get a handle on their powers, Dick was excited because it was a fantastic idea but at the same time he was concerned that he would never be able to see it because of Talon’s Override One protocol. Never the less, he had assisted in finding a location and the layout design of the building and helped to arrange mentors to come in and help with the lessons, knowing that there was a chance that he’d never be able to walk in the front do to see it in action.

Turns out, it didn’t make a difference because Cassandra Cain was the founder, not Black Bat, and it was enough to make a loop hole in the clause much like the Clocktower or Titans Tower.

It was magnificent to see in fruition.

“Every time you visit,” she smiled before leading him from the main entrance of the building towards the training area of the compound. “There needed to be someone to train the young ones who fight but do not have a mentor. Not everyone has a Batman to train them when they are young.” She eyed him carefully. “You would have been good at this. Teen Titans was the same idea.”

“Similar idea in theory, but this is much more professional. No one is having ice cream for breakfast here because a bunch of 16 year olds forgot to go grocery shopping or don’t know how to use a stove other than to make rice.” He waved towards an open door that had some students in it, doing science experiments with Ray Palmer. A lot of current and former heroes came and went as instructors at the site. “Maybe I would have been good for this once, but I’m a little too singularly focused for it now. Easier to stay put in Gotham where I can keep my eye on things.” Dick could leave Gotham without issue but it made Talon… antsy to be away for too long. It was easier when he was with someone in the Family but Talon was continuously worried about being gone for too long; he was nervous that the Court would rise again if he left the city. “You’re way better at it anyway.” Dick tried not to dwell on missed opportunities in his life, but sometimes it was hard to look at achievements and milestones reached by his family and friends that he just couldn’t have. It pulled at his heart just enough to be a little bit jealous.

“Hey.” Cass held onto his arm and stopped him in his tracks. She must have noticed some melancholy in him because she hugged him tight and then pulled away to examine him again. Apparently seeing enough of a change in his attitude she nodded in satisfaction. She then made L’s with both hands and brought one hand down from her forehead and met the other in front of her chest and then held up her open palm to her face, bent her middle knuckle and tapped her chin with it.

Dick laughed, rubbed the back of his hand against his chin and brought his hands down his sides. ‘ _Liar_.’ “We both know that your favourite brother is Tim.” Cass smiled brightly, fully admitting to that statement. It was true and all of them knew it. “I also know that I’m not even your favourite person in this body, let alone your favourite brother.” Cass opened her mouth to protest that one, but Dick just smiled and waved her off. “That’s okay. I love you anyways.”

She shook her head anyway. “I do not have a favourite you. Talon just makes more sense sometimes.” She started to walk down the fall again, Dick following closely at her side. “Speaking of, I’m about to train some of the older students. Talon, would you like to join me?”

Dick blinked, and when the eyes opened again, Talon nodded eagerly. “Yes.” Talon loved working with Black Bat. She would ask for his help sometimes because trusted his knowledge and expertise, more than any of the others ever did. Most people wanted Dick, but tolerated Talon. Black Bat wanted both. She understood him almost as much as Dick did. “Talon will help Black Bat make them better. Stronger.”

“Good. We are working on falling.”

Talon tilted his head to the side, thinking quickly. It was an important skill to have. No matter what the skills or power, being able to fall without hurting themselves was necessary. “Fliers?”

“Two.”

Talon scoffed. “They are always the hardest to teach to fall. So stubborn.” Cass hummed in agreement and opened the door for him to lead the way into the training room. Talon could see six students inside waiting for them. One was floating a few inches above the ground. Another had wings with ruffled feathers. Those two would need his help most. He would teach them. Like they were his own Family. Because Black Bat wanted him to.

The voice of Dick added _and_ _because learning to fall can be half the fun of flying_.

Fun. Talon liked fun.

“Talon will help. Let us go.”

* * *

_40 YEARS_

Dick thought it was a pretty packed room for a book launch, but honestly he didn’t have much of a reference point for it, being that it was the first time he had ever been to one. It seemed especially strange that it was this packed for a book that no one knew who the true author of the work was.

_Unlife: The Flightless Robin, by Anonymous._

“This is really good, Jay.” He flipped through the pages and smiled when he saw pictures that had been provided by Tim from Jason’s early days as Robin. He had forgotten how tiny Jason used to be. “You should have wrote this years ago.”

“Bruce would have been pissed.”

“Yeah, but he would have been proud, too.” Dick looked up from the book and smiled at Jason warmly. “I’m proud of you, little brother.” And he was. He had read the previous drafts and given some feedback, but seeing it now actually in his hands in a store, with all these people eager to read Jason’s story… it was amazing.

“Little brother.” Jason sniffed and turned his head, but Dick could see the small grin teasing at the corner of his lips. He ran his hands through his grey hair absently. “I look like your grandfather. Hell, I _am_ a grandfather.”

“Still my little brother even if you are a silver fox.” Now Jason laughed out loud and Dick nudged him with this shoulder. “I know that you wrote this under a pseudonym and it is credited anonymously, but you didn’t bring your family? Not every day that you have a book launch.” His eyes scanned the room of people lined up to get the book. It was strange that he was the only person Jason had brought with him. Tim, Damian and Cass were all out of town, but Jason’s own family should be here for this. “Look how many people are here to read what you wrote.”

“No.” Jason looked distractedly over the crowd and shook his head. “We’re having dinner later, but we’ve decided that we aren’t going to tell the grandkids. Not until they’re older, anyway. Like, adult older.” Dick heard the unspoken _after I’m dead_ in Jason’s tone.

Which meant… no. It couldn’t… Jason wouldn’t… Would he?

“Are you leaving? Again? Forever? Is this… it? Is Talon… fuck.” Dick paused to gather his thoughts and calm the mentally screaming Talon in his head, pushing in from all sides to take over. Dick fought back, hard. _Not this time, Talon._ _If this is the last time I’m going to talk to my brother, you better let me be in control and use all my vocabulary_. Talon was still distraught but settled down at the back of Dick’s mind and under his skin, and asked Dick if he could say goodbye to Jason too. _If it comes to that, yes. Of course. Thank you._

“Are we not going to see you again?” rushed out Dick, not trusting his words to cooperate for long no matter what Talon said.

Jason’s eyes widened huge as he understood where Dick’s thoughts were going. “Hey, stop.” He grabbed Dick’s shoulder hard, bordering on painful, but grounding him. The touch helped him focus. “Of course you will. I’m just not going to tell them about that part of my life. I’m told that it was hard to grow up knowing that your father was the Red Hood. They learn about stuff like that in history class at school now, and it wasn’t all sunshine. I’m just trying to avoid the stress for the next generation. They don’t need to know that the person tucking them in for bedtime stories use to murder competing crime lords on a nightly basis.”

“Then what about me? Us? How do you explain this?” Dick gestured at his own body. How were they going to explain that while Grandpa Jay was grandfather age, his big brother was only 24? Always 24. And that was probably easiest part. If they couldn’t explain that away, Dick wouldn’t be able to be a part of their lives anymore.

“There is nothing _to_ explain, Dick.” He grinned and squeezed Dick’s arm, but it was gentler than before. “Kids are pretty accepting of what is normal. We won’t have to say anything for a long time, and if they do ask? Meta humans are so common now that it’s pretty much a non starter. Uncle Dick is just a weird meta with strange eyes who doesn’t age and sometimes talks in third person. That’s enough for now. They don’t need more details than that for a long time. You can tell them whatever you want about yourself when they do ask. I just ask that you leave me out of it.” Jason watched him carefully for a few minutes while Dick and Talon processed the information. Talon was calming down and when Dick felt calmer and more in control he gave a small nod. Jason let out a small huff. “I can’t believe you thought I was just going to vanish on you. Even if I wanted to, there is no way my kids would let that happen. They love you.”

“They are older than me now.” It was a strange experience, watching his Family grow up, grow old and pass away around him, but he hadn’t expected what it felt like to watch their children and grandchildren grow up as well. They weren’t his kids, but they were definitely his family. And they never knew Dick before Talon so there were no existing preconceptions about him. Talon loved all of them beyond comprehension. They were his Family as much as they were Dick’s. And they were all slowly growing up.

“Sure, physically.” Jason shrugged like it didn’t matter in the slightest. “You’re still their Uncle Dickface.”

“And I still hate that you taught them to call me that.”

“I think I’m funny.”

“You are a good dad, Jason. And an even better grandpa.” He grinned at Jason. “I always knew you would be.”

Jason shuffled awkwardly back and forth but smiled. “Well… thank you.” Jason looked Dick up and down a few times, examining him closely. “Are we all good?”

Dick nodded. Things were quickly settling down in his head. “Yeah. You freaked us out, that’s all.”

“Sorry, Dick.” Jason put his arm around Dick’s shoulders, pulling him into a half hug. Talon purred quietly in response. Jason lowered his voice and pressed his forehead into Dick’s temple, like he was trying to get closer to speak to the person on the inside. “Sorry, Talon. Didn’t mean to upset you. Bad choice of words. I wasn’t thinking and it didn’t really come out right.”

Dick snorted in response. “Yeah, we know what that is like.” Dick looked at the book again and handed it to Jason. “Hey, can we get this autographed?”

“Did you buy it?”

“Don’t I get a free copy? Big brother privilege?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about. This book was written by Anonymous,” said Jason innocently. Dick started to protest but Jason interrupted him. “The proceeds are going to charity, Dick. Buy your own damn book.”

“Fine.” He started to walk towards the line of people checking out and dragged Jason along with him. “And then you’ll sign it?”

“I will if you want, but I don’t think I have to.” Dick stopped in his tracks and turned round to face him. Jason sighed, and then nodded towards the book. “Check out the dedication.”

Dick flipped open the front cover and read over the inscription quickly.

_For Batman and the Original Robin:_  
It was sometimes a rocky road and while we all could have done things differently on occasion, I wouldn’t trade it for the world.  
Being Robin gave me magic, and for that, I thank you.

“Jeez, Little Wing.” Jason turned red at the old nickname, and Dick pulled him into another hug. “Thank you. We wouldn’t change a thing either.”

* * *

_65 YEARS_

“Shouldn’t you have learned to play Bridge by now? Isn’t that what you do in retirement homes?”

“We also eat a lot of Jello and reminisce about the good old days.” Wally laughed as they entered the room and he sat down carefully at one of the empty tables. “I’ve never learned Bridge. It just looks so slow. And even if I knew how to play, we’d need a fourth. I’d be up for a board game though.”

“Sure thing.” Dick went to take a look at the shelf of the activity room they were in and scanned the options carefully. “Ticket to Ride good with you?”

They hadn’t played that one in months and Wally’s face lit up at the suggestion. “Classic. Set it up.” Dick brought the game over and sat down on one side of Wally while Donna took the seat on the other. He slid the lid off the box and began to sort out the cards and pieces on the table.

They were halfway through the game, with Wally handily winning as he typically did, when a young woman around the same physical age of Dick and Donna approached the table with a tea service. “Would any of you like some?” They all accepted, but it was an unspoken arrangement that Wally was just going to drink Dick’s for him after the woman left. Dick wrapped his hands around the mug in the meantime. Once drinks were settled she asked, “Who are these nice young people visiting you today, Wally?” They had visited Wally here plenty of times, and were known by most of the staff as regulars, but this nurse was new, or at least new to them.

“These are my great nephew and niece, Dick and Donna. Guys, this is Jenny. She’s fresh out of nursing school. Don’t scare her off.” Donna smiled in greeting and Dick held out his freshly tea warmed hand to shake hers. “And don’t let them fool you into thinking that they’re nice and sweet, Jen. Big brats, the both of them. Always caused me a lot of trouble when they were younger.” He points at Dick and gave an overly exaggerated head shake of fake disappointment, “Especially that one.”

“You’re telling tales, Uncle Wally,” chuckled Dick and Donna was grinning alongside him. It was genuine; there was something about how Wally dove wholeheartedly into the fake uncle story that always made them laugh.

“I don’t know. It felt like you had me running around in circles. I was always chasing you around, trying to keep you out of trouble,” mused Wally. Donna rolled her eyes at Dick good naturedly. It was a common joke direction that only the three of them ever got, but Wally still found it hilarious every time. “You never did respect your elders. Rude too. You don’t even take your sunglasses off inside anymore. Too cool for it.” Dick nearly choked trying to hold in his laughter, but Jenny just smiled politely and walked away, leaving them to their game.

“So, now is not the time to point out that I am older than you?” asked Donna as she completed a train on the board. She was catching Wally, but it looked like she was probably going to run out of time. The main thing that Dick knew was that he was absolutely going to lose. Talon kept chirping at him about it at the back of his thoughts. “And that Amazons have a hierarchy and a long history of respecting their elders even if we don’t age.”

Wally looked up from the board and pursed his lips while he considered Donna’s words. “Ok, fine, but you have to admit that Dick never respected his elders.”

“I’m offended.” Dick held his hand up to his heart in mock offense. “I respected Alfred.” Wally snorted and inhaled his cup of tea in four gulps. Dick swapped his full cup for Wally’s empty one and looked to the direction of the staff break room across the hall. “If I took off the glasses, do you think I could convince them that I’m just extremely jaundiced?”

“I wouldn’t suggest it. They’d have you hooked up to a spare dialysis machine before you could say ‘Holy kidneys, Batman!’”

Three more rounds pass and Dick keeps falling further and further behind. “My cards are terrible,” grumbled Dick and pointed at Donna, “And you keep stealing my routes.”

“You just need to be faster. Early bird and the worm and all that,” said Donna, not giving the impression that she cared about Dick’s poor game experience in the slightest. “Don’t blame me just because you have always sucked at this game.”

In the end, it is Wally who wins to absolutely no one’s surprise.

Hours later when it was time to go, Wally walked them to the front door. “See you next week?” It always hurt to hear Wally phrase it like a question, like he thought that one day maybe they would just stop coming to see him. Dick found that saying goodbye was always the hardest part for him too, not only because he liked hanging out with Wally, because the concept of a week still had no meaning to Dick. It was both very close and very far away at the same time. Without his phone telling him that it was the day to visit Wally, he’d never be able to keep track; he had alerts set for absolutely everything. Donna always picked him up for these visits though, just to make sure he got there.

“Of course,” said Donna warmly. “I need to get payback for you winning again. Can we play Blood Rage next time?”

Wally groaned dramatically. He almost always lost when they played Blood Rage. “Fine, but only if you sneak me in some pizza. Pizza here is terrible.”

“Sure. Rub it in that you can still eat crappy pizza. Just let us know what toppings you feel like that day before we come.” Dick held out his hand and Wally chuckled as tapped their knuckles together.

Some things never change, no matter how old they get.

_Fist bumps make Wally happy_ , hummed Talon and Dick agreed with him. No matter what happened when Dick was with Wally, Talon tended to stay in the background. Talon didn’t really seem to understand Wally, but he knew that he liked him. Things always seemed a little bit brighter in the darkness when he was around and mostly _BrightFlashHappyFlashSillyFlashWallyWallyWally_ seemed to run on continuous repeat through Talon’s mind when it came to his friend.

Wally grinned brightly, but there was a little sadness behind his eyes. “See you next time.” Donna pulled them both close to her and hugged them gently. They were the last three standing. The last of the Original Titans, and they knew that it wasn’t going to be much longer before Dick and Donna would be the only ones left. Sure, Wally was in good health but he was still 91 years old. As much as they wanted him to be, he wasn’t going to be around forever.

Being surrounded by Dick’s oldest friends, Talon purred in the hug, and Dick felt Wally’s arms tighten around him at the comforting sound. Dick pressed a kiss against each of their foreheads before they slowly broke apart. He hated it when these visits ended, but he always ended them the same way.

“Titans Together.”

* * *

_100 YEARS_

The grass and leaves under his feet crunched as he walked across the grounds towards his destination. He wasn’t really paying attention to where he was going but he didn’t need to. This was a regular route for him and he was able to do it blind folded, backwards and on his hands.

In fact, he had tried it that way just as something to do.

Forever was a long time and he was only a hundred years in. He had to keep himself entertained with the little things.

He halted under the maple tree that was glowing in reds and yellows of mid-autumn, and sat down on the ground and leaned against the headstone that rested beneath it.

“Hi, Bruce. Happy Thanksgiving.” He always paused as if he was waiting for Bruce’s response. Even the silence felt nice because Bruce had usually responded non-verbally when they talked. If he closed his eyes, it felt like he was still there with him. There was familiarity in the one sided conversations he had out here. “Sorry it’s been a while. Or maybe it hasn’t. I’m never sure. Feels like it might have been a while.” Wind blew through the graveyard, scattering leaves across the manicured lawn between the headstones of other loved members of the Wayne family. Of Dick and Talon’s Family. It wasn’t a sad place though. It was calm and peaceful. He liked to come out here, especially at night, and watch the stars with them.

“Your horde of great-great-grandkids have been running me ragged. Tommy recently became convinced that he can fly and he keeps jumping off things and he’s going to get himself killed. I’m pretty sure one of his cousins is to blame but I don’t know who the culprit is yet. I’ll figure it out though.” Bruce would have known who suggested it just by looking at them. Tim too. “Some of them are in the Bat life. Some are civilians.” Most of Jason’s family were fully out, but all of Tim’s were involved in some fashion. The rest were a solid mix. “All of them are safe, happy and healthy though. I’m looking after them all for you, just like I said I would.” Dick cast his eyes in the direction of the Manor, his enhanced hearing just able to make out the sounds of everyone who was there for the holiday. He liked hosting even if he didn’t eat and Talon liked having everyone in one place. “Our Family has grown so much. You would be so proud of them.”

“Talon’s pretty quiet these days. Comes out less and less. I stopped doing scans to check, so I’m not sure if it’s because enough of my brain has finally healed that I’m the one in charge or he’s just happy being the co-pilot or whatever. He’s still here though. He says hi.” Dick paused his conversation to listen to Talon, and then laughed before sharing the words with Bruce. “He also says that he’s the one keeping all of us safe for you, but I think he’s just trying to steal credit.”

“Clark and Diana say hi, too. They miss you.” Superman and Wonder Woman were still leading the League, with Batman holding a permanent seat at the table, with the cowl being passed down through the Wayne clan. “Clark, especially. Sometimes he comes to visit and he tries to start silly arguments with me because I think it reminds him of you. Did you know that he did that to you on purpose? Try and get a rise out of you for his own amusement?” Clark was aging, but significantly slower than his human counterparts. He and Dick had gone through a lot of the same issues together at the same time, outliving their human families and having to soldier on without them. It was comforting to have someone in the same position even if Talon wasn’t a big fan of Superman. “Of course you did. You probably encouraged it.”

“It’s funny. Sometimes something small will happen and a memory will flood back that I didn’t realise was missing. I picked up a batarang recently and suddenly could remember you trying to teach me how to throw one for the first time. I was so terrible and do you remember that we argued about it because I was blaming the shape of them?” He grinned to himself at the memory. When things like that came back to him, they were permanent but he still held onto the thoughts tightly, so he didn’t lose them again. “Come to think about it, I still blame the shape. It’s unbalanced to throw bat themed projectiles.” The wind rushed past again. He liked when nature responded to his words like that. It felt like he was being listened to. “I have no idea why I remembered that and why now. It isn’t like I haven’t touched hundreds of batarangs since Talon. Maybe I was already feeling nostalgic and it triggered it.” Dick shrugged. It happened a lot; some days just felt like someone, where everything just reminded him of one of his lost ones who were long gone.

“You were right, Bruce. This is hard. I knew it would be.” It was hard; every day it got a little bit harder too. Even watching the little milestones that everyone went through was a constant reminder that Dick was essentially frozen in time. The big things were even tougher. “I miss you all you guys so much.” He looked at the headstones nearby. Alfred had passed first, which was upsetting in itself but not unexpected. Bruce, too, to an extent, but his first sibling passing... that was the knife through the heart that he hadn’t truly understood how it would twist. Talon had locked him in for a month. When he came back out though, he only held on tighter. He had to love them with his entire heart for as long as he could. “I don’t regret it though. Not for a second.”

All the good little things had to outweigh the big bad ones. “The thing I didn’t realize was how fortunate I am for everything that I get to experience. Yeah, all of you are gone now, but our new family… they are all amazing. And Gotham. The world. They’ve all changed so much. Because of you and everything you did. You made a difference, Bruce. You started something and the world is better for it.” He knew that Bruce would probably pass off the praise, but it was true. None of them would have been where they were without him.

Dick’s alarm that he set when he left the house went off; he had given himself thirty minutes today for a visit. “I’ll be back soon, but I’ve got to get back. After all, someone needs to keep this Family of ours in line.”

Dick stood and started to walk back to the house. He paused at the edge of the cemetery and peeked back at the headstones, looking back at the family that he had given up everything to save. He normally told them that he loved them, but he opened his mouth a few times and nothing came out. He didn’t have the right words to say in farewell to them today. 

But someone else knew what to say though.

“Do not worry, Family. Talon is keeping Dick safe for you.”


End file.
